Faithfulness (4)

Faithfulness can turn the most menial job into a vitally important one. For example, think about how dependent we are on something as small as a postage stamp. It’s always ready for service. It goes wherever it’s sent. It does whatever it’s asked to do. It sticks to the task until it’s done. It doesn’t give up when it’s licked. It stays up to date. And it finds no job too small.

We weren’t all born with equal talents; some of us are more gifted in certain areas than others. But every one of us was born with an equal responsibility to utilize his or her abilities at full capacity. That’s the most any of us can do – and it’s what God, who gave us our talents, expects us to do.

Two hundred years ago when the U.S. Marine Corps was first formed, officials gave considerable time to contemplating a fitting motto. They finally chose the Latin phrase semper fidelis, a phrase now engraved on the mind of every Marine. What does it mean? “Always faithful”! Both are important words, but the most important is the first one: always. Why? Because a Marine can’t afford to be faithful only when it’s comfortable or convenient, or when he feels like it, or when it will make him happy. Semper fidelis means you must always be faithful – regardless of the cost.

God wants to be able to say the same thing about you as is said about Him: “Great is thy faithfulness.” So whether you’re a boss, an employee, a father or mother, a husband or wife, a friend, teammate, or a Marine, the word for you today is – always be faithful.

Soul food: Gen 35-36; Luke 8:40-56; Ps 125; Prov 4:3-4

Faithfulness (3)

Pastor James Merritt said, “The other day I asked my beautiful wife if she married me for my looks.” She replied, “No, I married you for your brains – it’s the little things that count!” Merritt was joking of course. What really counts in life is faithfulness in little things; it’s how dependability begins, grows, and matures.

Longfellow wrote, “Most people would succeed in small things if they weren’t troubled with great ambition.” Sometimes we think we’re too big for small things; we would rather get on with what we perceive as bigger, more important matters. But here is how Jesus sees it: “Anyone who can be trusted in little matters can also be trusted in important matters. But anyone who is dishonest in little matters will be dishonest in important matters. If you cannot be trusted with this wicked wealth, who will trust you with true wealth? And if you cannot be trusted with what belongs to someone else, who will give you something that will be your own?” (vv. 10-12 CEV).

If you want to succeed on the job, come to work on time; stick with the job until it’s finished; when you see something that needs to be done, do it – even if it’s not in your job description. Give an honest day’s work for an honest day’s pay; take your designated lunch break, not a three-hour paid vacation; report your expenses truthfully; support the team; and uphold the company’s reputation. In other words, be faithful on the job: “Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might” (Ecclesiastes 9:10 NIV). That’s the kind of faithfulness God honours.

Soul food: Gen 32-34; Luke 8:26-39; Ps 67; Prov 4:1-2

Faithfulness (2)

Faithfulness requires making 100 percent of your effort 100 percent of the time. Insight magazine once published an article by Gary Sheer called “Strive for Perfection… or Else!” It contained some alarming facts! The article said if 99.9 percent was good enough, 103,260 income tax returns would be processed incorrectly that year… 22,000 checks would be deducted from the wrong bank accounts within that next sixty minutes… 12 babies would be given to the wrong parents each day… 2 plane landings daily at O’Hare International Airport would be unsafe… 18,322 pieces of mail would be mishandled within that next hour… 291 pacemaker operations would be performed incorrectly that year… 880,000 credit cards in circulation would turn out to have incorrect cardholder information on their magnetic strips… 20,000 incorrect drug prescriptions would be written within that next twelve months… and 107 incorrect medical procedures would be performed by the end of that day. Those are pretty sobering statistics – especially if you are one of the people whose life is affected!

Here is the bottom line: Only your best should be good enough in any situation. Anything less than that will never be good enough because it reflects your failure to be totally faithful and completely dependable. That’s why the Bible says, “It is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful.” With God, faithfulness isn’t merely a concept or a suggestion; it’s a requirement of all who serve Him – and that includes you!

Soul food: Gen 30:25-31:55; Luke 8:16-25; Ps 120; Prov 3:33-35

Faithfulness (1)

A new employee once asked a coworker, “How long have you been working for the company?” He replied, “Ever since the boss threatened to fire me!” Seriously, employers scramble to find workers who are faithful and dependable. Citizens long for politicians who will faithfully carry out all of their campaign promises. In the marriage ceremony, newlyweds are asked to be faithful to the vows they make to each other.

The truth is, without faithfulness, your influence will be restricted – or wiped out. Without faithfulness, the sum total of all your other wonderful talents is diluted. Faithfulness turns the mundane into the miraculous and transforms ordinary individuals into dependable achievers. Wise King Solomon asked this soul-searching question: “Many claim to have unfailing love, but a faithful person who can find?” The world wants people who are faithful.

There are more than 300 geysers in Yellowstone National Park (approximately half the known geysers in the world). But one stands above the others. It’s not the largest, and its waters don’t reach the greatest height, but it’s by far the most popular. And its popularity is due solely to one thing – its dependability. People stand in long lines under the hot sun to see it, because according to a precise schedule, it shoots a stream of boiling water more than 120 feet into the air. You can nearly set your watch by it. That’s why it’s called Old Faithful.

People are attracted to our faithfulness. God is glorified by our faithfulness. So in all you do this day, practice faithfulness.

Soul food: Ps 23; John 6:1-15