“Faith that only works when life works isn’t faith at all. Covenant faith stays.”
By: Terry Allen
Big Mama—Lucille “Big Mama” Allen—was a porch theologian, a plain-spoken believer, and a woman whose faith was lived, not leased. She didn’t quote scripture to impress you; she lived it so you could survive. Big Mama believed faith was something you stood on when life stopped making sense—not something you negotiated when things went wrong.
That’s why she had no patience for transactional faith. That and a speaker on my Bible call reminded me of Mustard seed faith.
Transactional faith says, “God, I’ll trust You if You fix this.” That’s not faith—that’s E.G.O., Easing God Out. It turns belief into a contract and God into a vendor. It asks for proof before obedience and demands results before surrender.
Big Mama said covenant faith doesn’t work like that. Covenant faith is rooted in relationship, not results. It stays when answers don’t come and blessings dry up. Scripture reminds us of that truth plainly: when everything was taken, Job stayed. He questioned God, but he didn’t quit God. That’s covenant.
And that distinction matters right now.
We are living in a moment of national fatigue—political division, economic pressure, social unrest, and spiritual exhaustion. People are tired of systems that don’t work and promises that don’t deliver. In moments like this, transactional faith collapses. Covenant faith rises.
We see covenant faith at work across this country every day. It shows up in parents fighting for their children’s education when schools are underfunded. In communities feeding neighbors as food costs soar. In Black churches opening their doors as safe spaces for mental-health healing. In elders and organizers who still believe justice matters, even when progress is slow.
That’s mustard-seed faith. Small. Quiet. Persistent.
Big Mama said if you ever hit rock bottom and don’t realize God made the rock, you’ll mistake pressure for punishment and miss the purpose. Rock bottom isn’t where faith dies—it’s where it gets planted.
Jesus said faith the size of a mustard seed can move mountains—not because it’s loud, but because it’s used.
Big Mama taught us that faith is powerful.
But only if you plant it.
Protect it.
And use it.
Terry Allen is an NABJ award-winning Journalist, DEI expert, PR professional, and founder of the charity – Vice President at Focus-PR, Founder of City Men Cook, and Dallas Chapter President of NBPRS.org
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