The Closet Professor

For I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift, so that you may be established—that is, that I may be encouraged together with you by the mutual faith both of you and me.

—Romans 1:11-12

The other day, I came across the following clip in which Dolly talks about her spirituality on Person to Person with Norah O’Donnell:

Dolly may look flashy, and she once said that “It takes a lot of money to look this trashy,” but she has always lived a beautiful life. She may be one of the richest woman in America, but she also donates to many charities. Her Imagination Library is a book gifting program that mails free books to children from birth until they begin school. She’s not calling for books to be banned or that libraries be defunded because they contain books that ignorant people find offensive. No, she is sending out books to children for free. She’s never claimed to be the “best Christian” or told others how they should behave. She has famously refrained from entering the political fray. “I don’t do politics,” Dolly once said. “I have too many fans on both sides of the fence. Of course, I have my opinion, but I learned years ago to keep my mouth shut about things.” Staying out of politics is more than just being a shrewd businesswoman, but she is following Christ’s teachings of not judging others. Some people believe she should be more vocal about politics, especially the way LGBTQ+ people are treated in the South, but she has always shown support in other ways.

In the clip above, Dolly talks about spirituality and living by example. I don’t think you have to be the most vocal person in opposing evil and hateful politics, because some people can do more by living in a way that is an example to others. I think that what Dolly does so well. She’s never pretended to be something she’s not. She was raised dirt poor and through hard work and incredible talent, she has prospered and has made sure she takes care of others along the way.

For true Christians, God lives within our hearts. We don’t have to go to church, sit in the front pew, sing or say AMEN the loudest, or nod along with every word the preacher says. However, what we do need to do is to live our lives in a way that honors God. By following the teachings of Christ we can do that. Dolly lives the life that James advocated in his Epistle. I want to leave you with a passage from the Epistle of James in which he talks about the best way to practice our faith:

What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him? If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, and one of you says to them, “Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,” but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit? Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.

But someone will say, “You have faith, and I have works.” Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe—and tremble! But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead? 

For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.

—James 2:14-20, 26