by David Gibson<\/p>\n
Some things are meant to go together. Only one sock or one glove is next to useless. One cannot do the work of two.<\/p>\n
For good health, we need a balance of work and rest. Good communication involves both speaking and listening.<\/p>\n
This is also true in the spiritual realm. We must believe in Jesus as both Son of God (divine) and Son of Man (human). We must have Him as both our Savior and our Lord-not Savior only (Luke 6:46).<\/p>\n
Faith is dead without works (James 2:14-26). Hearing God’s word must be accompanied by obedience (James 1:21-25). Loveless giving is of no profit (I Corinthians 13:3).<\/p>\n
The first commandment (Love God) cannot work without the second (Love your neighbor as yourself). Forgiveness from God cannot be separated from our willingness to forgive others (Matthew 18:21-35). And truth needs tact to be persuasive (Galatians 6:1; Ephesians 4:15; II Timothy 2:24-26).<\/p>\n
But both\/and<\/p>\n
“This is pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father, to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world<\/em>” (James 1:27 NASB).<\/p><\/blockquote>\nWhat if we’re strong on benevolence but loose in morals? Or what if we are paragons of virtue but help no one? It is not either-or, but both-and.
\nWhile the pairs above are not a comprehensive list, they may help us identify areas where we need to place more emphasis in our lives.\nThe key is balance.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
by David Gibson Some things are meant to go together. Only one sock or one glove is next to useless. One cannot do the work of two. For good health, we need a balance of work and rest. Good communication involves both speaking and listening. Not either\/or This is also true in the spiritual realm.…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[27],"tags":[76],"class_list":["post-89092","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-terminology"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":2026,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/since-teaching-is-a-work-then-it-doesnt-save-right\/","url_meta":{"origin":89092,"position":0},"title":"Since teaching is a work, then it doesn’t save. Right?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 29, 2004","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Telling others about Christ is a work. \"For by grace we are saved through faith, it is the gift of God, not of works lest any man should boast\u00a0\" (Ephesians 2:8-9). Answer: There was a branch of the Baptist denomination that fully accepted the idea that being saved was\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":28611,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-is-a-work\/","url_meta":{"origin":89092,"position":1},"title":"What is a work?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 26, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I'm a little confused by works. I understand that faith and works go hand in hand. But I'm the type of person who needs concrete examples. Is reading my Bible considered a work? Is, say, giving turkeys to the poor on Thanksgiving considered a work? Is praying a work?\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":15058,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/do-you-believe-that-the-only-way-to-heaven-is-by-accepting-jesus-as-your-savior-and-not-by-good-deeds-or-grace\/","url_meta":{"origin":89092,"position":2},"title":"Do you believe that the only way to heaven is by accepting Jesus as your Savior and not by good deeds or grace?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 4, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Does the church of Christ believe that the only way to heaven is through the Lord Jesus Christ, by accepting Him as your Savior and not by good deeds or grace? Thanks. Answer: \"If you love Me, keep My commandments\" (John 14:15). You cannot claim to accept the Lord\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":10776,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/are-you-a-born-again-christian\/","url_meta":{"origin":89092,"position":3},"title":"Are You a Born Again Christian?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 27, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"by Steve Dewhirst What other kind of Christian is there? Jesus told the night-visitor Nicodemus, \"Unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.\" When Nicodemus expressed his puzzlement, the Lord explained, \"Unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/09\/130324-F-KL201-065-300x200.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":20009,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/if-you-work-to-become-more-righteous-is-it-true-you-are-not-accepting-gods-righteousness\/","url_meta":{"origin":89092,"position":4},"title":"If you work to become more righteous, is it true you are not accepting God’s righteousness?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 17, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Mr. Jeff, A friend posted this on Facebook. I've read it over and over, and I just can't grasp what is being said. I'm always skeptical when a writer only quotes one Bible verse when he has so much to say. Sounds to me like a false doctrine or\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":94543,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/do-all-things-mean-all-things\/","url_meta":{"origin":89092,"position":5},"title":"Do “All Things” Mean “All Things”?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 14, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"by Wayne Wells via\u00a0Sentry Magazine, Vol. 20 No. 4, December 1994 One of the greatest promises found in the Bible is that God can cause all things to work together for good for those who love Him (Romans 8:28). Unfortunately, it is not uncommon to hear brethren argue that this\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/89092","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=89092"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/89092\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=89092"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=89092"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=89092"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}