You can't make people act.
You may be able to inspire them to utter beautiful words and sentiments.
But you can't make them do anything.
As Jesus said: "'You hypocrites! Isaiah prophesied rightly about you when he said: "This people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching human precepts as doctrines."'" Matthew 15:8.9 (NRSV)
Isaiah adds: "learned by rote." Isaiah 29:13 (NRSV)
So beware of those who speak beautifully and piously but do not act on their words.
They are practising a feel-good religion which does not do what it says.
[Scripture quotations (marked NRSV) are taken from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A., and are used by permission. All rights reserved.]
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