An evangelical Christian friend of mine is puzzling over how people who profess to be Christian could do evil things. He's really hurting. He apparently believed that if he kept his children within the world of loudly professing Christians, they would be safe. Those he trusted have hurt his children. I'm not sure how wise he is in the way of God. I'm willing to admit the possibility that he knows more about God or is closer to God than I am. After all, I'm more likely to wrestle with angels than invite them in. But I do know that he is very unwise in the ways of people.

I've never trusted public displays of anything. Too many are like the rebbe's disciples in the old Hasidic story who come to him with their fear that the evil inclination is chasing them. The wise rebbe looks at them and tells them not to be afraid because they are too busy chasing it to have to worry about it chasing them. The more loudly a man (or woman) professes, the more I wonder who the audience is. Profess loudly enough, you run the risk of not hearing---not man, not God, not anything. The more fervor in the display, the more it seems to me that a part of what's happening involves fear. Franklin Roosevelt may have said that we have nothing to fear but fear itself but I've been around enough to know that fear really is a thing to be feared.

I do know that proclaiming yourself an observant Jew and being a rabbi does not necessarily make you a good man or prevent you from, as one or two have done, milking profit out of a nursing home in unholy ways. Proclaiming yourself a good Christian is similarly insufficient to make you good. You cannot spend a lot of time concentrating on what people say. You have to watch what they do.

And it is not enough to observe what they do when they know eyes are upon them. You need to look for the quick glance that tells you that their actions are for an audience. When you see it, no matter what they claim, count your fingers and toes and hide your loved ones.

Ultimately, good is not what it professes, it is what good does.

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