Of Faith and Deeds

"What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed, but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. But someone will say, You have faith; I have deeds. 
Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do. You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.... As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead."
                                                                          James 2:14-19,26
It has been said men live in deeds not in time. It should be this way for Christian as James said faith without deeds is dead.
People remember what we do, positive and negative. As Christians we cannot live our lives half heartedly the eternal resting place of others are depending on us.
The late reverend Martin Luther King Jr. Prayed,
We thank thee for thy Church, founded upon thy Word, that challenges us to do more than sing and pray, but go out and work as though the very answer to our prayers depended on us and not upon thee.
Then, finally, help us to realize that man was created to shine like stars and live on through all eternity.

In Judaism there is a term tzedakah, Rabbi Noah Weinberg describes it this way
The Hebrew word "tzedakah" is commonly translated as "charity" or "tithe." But this is misleading. "Charity" implies that your heart motivates you to go beyond the call of duty. "Tzedakah," however, literally means "righteousness" -- doing the right thing. A "tzaddik," likewise, is a righteous person, someone who fulfills all his obligations, whether in the mood or not.
As Christians we have an obligation to our fellow man. We must do all we can to introduce him Jesus Christ and the salvation only He can give. At the same time however we cannot expect anyone to even be interested in coming to Jesus if his basic needs are not met.
At the same time we cannot expect people to listen to us if we are not representing Jesus by our deeds and actions.
Over the years I have met many men and women who have told me they "are Christians and were proud of it." had they not told me in many cases I would not have known. These people attended church and followed the ritual but they still felt obligated to tell me they were Christians.
By contrast I have met men and women who have never said a word to me yet by their words and deeds I have know beyond a shadow of a doubt that they are true believers in Christ.
It is this last group of men and women we need to copy.
         Think about it.