Steadfast, loyal, conscientious, true, committed. These are only a few words which help us to define faithfulness. Faithfulness produces both blessing and suffering. We all like blessing but tend to avoid suffering. Yet we cannot have one without the other. Proverbs 28:20 says, “A faithful man shall abound with blessings…”
A good example of this is seen in the life of Abraham who was blessed by God and was in turn made a blessing to the world. Nehemiah 9:8 says of him that “his heart was found faithful before God.” We must also remember that Abraham endured considerable suffering and self-sacrifice.
Faithfulness can be costly for us, as in the case of Antipas in the church of Pergamos, whom God called “my faithful martyr” (Rev. 2:13). However, can any suffering as a result of faithfulness be compared to the anticipated joy of hearing your Lord say to you, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant…” (Mt. 25:21)? Take just a few minutes to consider the following five questions, and apply the Word of God to your own life.
What Does God Really Expect of Us?
“For if there be first a willing mind, it is accepted according to that a man hath, and not according to that he hath not” (2 Cor. 8:12).
God expects us to be faithful according to what we have to give. He does not expect us to give more than we have, even though what we have to give doesn’t seem like very much. Remember the 5,000 men Jesus fed with only five loaves and two small fishes? Philip spoke for many of us when he said, “…but what are they among so many?” (Jn. 6:9). There is so much to do and we have so little to give! What good will it do for us to even do the little we can do? What good will it do for us to be faithful? The Scripture even emphasizes that the two fish were “small,” yet as Christ broke them into pieces, every hungry mouth was satisfied. Don’t ask me how He did it–it was a miracle!
If only we are willing, as the verse says, God will accept what we have, and in His hands it will be multiplied. When we foolishly look around and see others who seemingly have much more to offer by way of talents and abilities, we begin to compare what little we have with the abundance they have, and discouragement soon sets in. Some may have two small fishes to place in His hands and others may have two full baskets to place at His feet, but neither is sufficient to feed the crowd without His touch.
Remember, He is the One who accepted the two mites of the poor widow and pronounced to His disciples the amazing news that what she had given far surpassed the wealth tossed into the treasury by the rich, whose pockets still bulged with their riches as they walked away from the temple (Mk. 12:41-44). She wasn’t rich, but she was faithful. She didn’t give much, but she gave all that she had.
How Do We Regard Ourselves?
“Let a man so account of us (regard us) as of the ministers of Christ, and stewards of the mysteries of God. Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful” (1 Cor. 4:1-2).
Do we regard ourselves as missionaries, teachers, administrators, or as having certain skills or abilities? It may be fine for us to recognize our own job description, but more than anything else, we ought to regard ourselves as servants of Christ, as those whose chief ambition is faithfulness to Him.
Faithfulness is really a motive of the heart. It is what motivates a man to do what he should, when he should, regardless of what people think of him. Actually, it matters very little what others think of you and me. Paul said, “…with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged of you, or of man’s judgment” (v. 3). Just because others think we are doing a great job does not necessarily mean we are being faithful to our stewardship. What really matters is what God thinks. To please Him, it is absolutely necessary that we are faithful.
There are many learned skills that are truly important in the work. Some are skilled in highly technical areas, helping the work progress more rapidly. Others are gifted in teaching, helping, or giving, to name just a few gifts given by the Lord to His Church.
We have certainly become more sophisticated in our approach to Christian service. What Moses could have done with a computer to keep accurate tabulations of the thousands of people God had entrusted to Him! Can you think of Paul and Silas travelling on their missionary journeys with our comfortable transportation? Thank God for every advancement to speed the spread of God’s Word. However, let us remind ourselves constantly that none of these excellent advancements can replace the Word, the Spirit, or the crucial need we have to be faithful, because only through faithfulness can God use our lives to accomplish His will.
Is Our Conduct Free of Corruption & Negligence?
“Then the presidents and princes sought to find occasion against Daniel concerning the kingdom; but they could find none occasion nor fault; forasmuch as he was faithful, neither was there any error or fault found in him” (Dan. 6:4). One translation says, “They could find no corruption in him, because he was trustworthy and neither corrupt nor negligent” (niv).
Historically, many people who serve in governmental affairs–as Daniel did–fall prey to corruption and negligence. Have you noticed how quickly political parties expose any failure in the lives and conduct of those in opposition? We have also seen how quickly and gladly men expose the corruption that sadly is all too prevalent today in the lives of those in Christian leadership. Daniel’s life is a gust of fresh air to those of us gasping for breath in the smog and pollution of unfaithfulness all around us.
How glad these wicked men would have been to find some tarnish in Daniel’s character, some proof of his taking advantage of his position, some record of his directing government funds to his own pocket, some foolish, morally compromising behavior. Yet, as they scrutinized his life, they came up empty! Would our lives bear such scrutiny? Paul wrote to Titus, “A bishop must be blameless, as the steward of God” (1:7).
Do you long to have a life that is free of corruption and not evidencing negligence? There is no “shortcut” to realizing this. We must choose to be faithful one moment at a time to conduct ourselves as good stewards. If we have failed, God’s grace is there for us. The father ran to embrace his prodigal son, even though his son had wasted all his inheritance in blatant unfaithfulness. Yet resources, opportunities, years are wasted.
Corruption and negligence enter our lives seemingly by the small choices we begin to make and then continue to make. Entertaining thoughts we should not, putting off doing things that we should do, ceasing to read and meditate daily on God’s Word; generally “letting things slip,” spiritually.
Do We Have the Cart Before the Horse?
“He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much” (Luke 16:10).
“Putting the cart before the horse” basically means that we have things mixed up and are trying to accomplish something the wrong way. A horse is meant to pull the cart; the cart is not capable of pulling the horse. It makes no more sense if one is given responsibility before being a faithful person. Some mistakenly feel that, as their responsibility becomes greater, they will naturally respond with greater faithfulness; however, the cart of responsibility is now placed before the horse of faithfulness. The unfaithful person scoffs at little things to do as though they are too insignificant to be too concerned about. He deceives himself into thinking, “If only I were given something important to do, I could show people how faithful I am! Poor me, I can’t be faithful because I don’t have anything really big to do!”
A faithful person does not stumble over what it is he has to do by trying to evaluate its importance. He is instead taken up with who he has to please, and so nothing is too great or too small.
“No service in itself is small
Nor great though earth it fill;
But that is small which seeks its own,
And great, that seeks God’s will.”
We must be convinced that faithfulness is not determined by the task at hand. Faithfulness is an attitude of heart that each of us can choose for ourselves and then apply to each new day and its challenges.
What do you have to do just now? Is there a teaching lesson to prepare or some grass to cut? Perhaps you were just on your way to see some Christian to encourage him? On the other hand, maybe the drainpipe is clogged up and you need to clean it out. Some tasks throb with excitement, while others are quite mundane.
As we learn to choose faithfulness, we understand how to apply ourselves to everything we do with all of our hearts. “And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men” (Col. 3:23).
Are We Reproducing Faithfulness?
“Help, Lord; for the godly man ceaseth; for the faithful fail from among the children of men” (Ps. 12:1).
Science records for us that in past generations many creatures have become extinct because of adverse conditions and failure to reproduce their own kind. Many creatures are even now considered endangered species. That means they are on their way out unless their fate can somehow be reversed by careful management.
What about faithful men and women in the service of Christ? Are they an endangered specie? Should we be concerned, as the writer of this Psalm seemed to be? It appears that throughout past generations, parents have not taught children the importance of faithful attitudes and behavior to the degree that their forefathers taught them. We have lost much of our concept of being conscientious and committed.
Psalm 12:1 seems definitely a prayer we should raise to God. What is the use of all the training we receive, the skills we learn, or the tools we acquire if we fail to learn faithfulness? Do we really think we can get the job done without it, or that we can please Him without it? May God give us a longing to learn faithfulness and the ability to reproduce it in others.