By Tim Richards
Noted youth speaker, Ken Davis, did a presentation in his college speech class that neither he nor his professor will ever forget. His grade was to be determined by how well he could drive home the point of his speech.
The title of Davis’ presentation was very bland, The Law of the Pendulum. In 20 minutes, he explained how a pendulum never returns to a point higher than the point from which it was released.
Because of friction and gravity, each time a pendulum swings it makes slightly less of an arc, until it finally stops.
To illustrate his point Davis attached a three-foot string to a child’s toy top in front of a blackboard, pulled the top to one side, made a mark on the blackboard and released it. Each time it swung to his side he made a mark with chalk. In less than one minute the top stopped swinging. The marks on the blackboard proved his thesis. He then asked how many believed the law of the pendulum. Everyone, including the professor raised their hand. His professor thought the speech had ended and started toward his desk only to discover the speech was just getting started!
Davis hung a sturdy parachute cord to a steel ceiling beam. He attached a 250-pound metal weight creating a pendulum.
He asked his professor to sit in a chair atop a table with the back of his head against the room’s cement wall. Then, with the help of an assistant, he lifted the 250-pound weight to within an inch of the professor’s nose and reaffirmed the law of the pendulum. “If the law of the pendulum is true, when I release this mass of metal, it will swing across the room and return short of the release point. You’re in no danger Professor.” He again asked, “Sir, do you believe the law of the pendulum is true?” The professor’s eyes were huge, but he managed a weak, “Yes.”
When the pendulum was released it slowly arced across the room. As it started back the professor literally dove off the table. Anticipating the professor’s reaction Davis stepped around the still-swinging pendulum and asked, “Does he believe in the law of the pendulum?” The class unanimously shouted, “N0!”
Davis’ speech illustrates it is often easier to believe something theoretically than it is to act on faith. The Bible makes a similar point when it says, “So you see, faith by itself isn’t enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless.” (James 2:17, NLT)
Faith is never intended to be theoretical but should be practical.
The faith God desires for us not only changes what we believe, but also the way we live. Each of us need to be sure what we believe is more than merely theoretical but is a practical faith which changes both our hearts and our actions.
Tim Richards, author of “Thriving in the Storm: Discovering God’s Peace and Perspective in Turbulent Times,” grew up in rural southeast Missouri and graduate from the Moody Bible Institute in Chicago. During four decades a pastor, he has served five churches, including three in rural Missouri and two in St. Louis. He can be reached by email at iamtimrichards@yahoo.com.
