2023-02-08
Klaagliedere 3:23 DB
Betroubaarheid kan die nederigste werk in ‘n uiters belangrike een verander. Dink byvoorbeeld aan hoe afhanklik ons van iets kleins soos ‘n posseël is. Dis altyd gereed vir diens. Dit gaan waar dit gestuur word. Dit doen wat daarvan gevra word. Dit hou aan met die taak tot dit voltooi is. Dit bly op datum. Geen taak is te klein daarvoor nie.
Ons is nie almal met dieselfde talente gebore nie; sommige van ons is in sekere areas meer talentvol as ander. Elkeen van ons is egter met dieselfde verantwoordelikheid om ons vermoëns ten volle aan te wend, gebore. Dis die minste wat enigeen van ons kan doen – en dis wat God, wat ons talente vir ons gegee het, van ons verwag.
Tweehonderd jaar gelede toe die Amerikaanse vloot gestig is, het amptenare lank oor ‘n geskikte leuse gedink. Uiteindelik het hulle op die Latynse frase: Semper fidelis, besluit, ‘n frase wat deesdae in elke seesoldaat se gedagtes gegraveer is. Wat beteken dit? ‘Altyd betroubaar’! Beide is belangrike woorde, maar die belangrikste is die eerste woord: altyd. Hoekom? Omdat ‘n seesoldaat dit nie kan bekostig om slegs betroubaar te wees wanneer dit gemaklik of gerieflik is, of wanneer hy lus is, of wanneer dit hom gelukkig maak nie. Semper fidelis beteken dat jy altyd betroubaar moet wees – ten spyte van die koste daaraan verbonde.
God wil dieselfde van jou sê as wat van Hom gesê word: “‘n Mens kan altyd op U vertrou…” Of jy dus nou ‘n baas, ‘n werknemer, ‘n ma of pa, ‘n man of vrou, ‘n vriend, spanmaat of ‘n seesoldaat is, die woord vir jou vandag is: Wees altyd betroubaar.
Sielskos: Gen 35-36; Luk 8:40-56; Ps 125; Spr 4:3-4
Lamentations 3:23 KJV
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
2023-02-07
Lukas 16:10 NLV
Pastoor James Merritt het gesê: ‘Die ander dag het ek vir my pragtige vrou gevra of sy as gevolg van my aantreklike gesig met my getrou het. Sy het geantwoord: ‘Nee, ek het oor jou brein met jou getrou – dis die klein dingetjies wat saakmaak!’ Merrit het natuurlik gegrap. Wat regtig in die lewe saakmaak, is getrouheid in die klein dingetjies; dis hoe betroubaarheid begin, groei en volwasse word.
Longfellow het geskryf: ‘Die meeste mense sou sukses behaal het, as hulle nie met groot ambisie gemoeid was nie.’ Soms dink ons dat ons te groot vir klein dinge is; ons sal onsself eerder met dit wat ons as groter, belangriker sake sien, ophou. Hier is egter soos Jesus dit sien: ‘As julle in klein sake getrou is, sal julle ook in groot sake getrou wees. As jy selfs ‘n klein bietjie oneerlik is, sal jy nie eerlik wees met groot verantwoordelikhede nie. En as jy onbetroubaar is met wêreldse rykdom, wie sal julle vertrou met die werklike rykdom van die hemel? En as julle nie betroubaar is met ander mense se geld nie, waarom sal julle met julle eie geld vertrou word?’ (verse 10-12 NLV).
As jy sukses in jou werk wil behaal, kom betyds by die werk aan; hou aan met die taak totdat dit klaar is; wanneer jy sien dat iets gedoen moet word, doen dit – selfs al is dit nie in jou posbeskrywing nie. Gee ‘n eerlike dag se werk vir ‘n eerlike dag se salaris; neem jou etensuur, nie ‘n drie-uur lange betaalde vakansie nie; rapporteer jou uitgawes eerlik; ondersteun die span en handhaaf die maatskappy se reputasie. Met ander woorde, wees betroubaar by die werk. ‘Doen met toewyding alles wat jou hand vind om te doen…’ (Prediker 9:10 NLV). Dis die soort betroubaarheid wat God eer.
Sielskos: Gen 32-34; Luk 8:26-39; Ps 67; Spr 4:1-2
Luke 16:10 NIV
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
2023-02-06
1 Corinthians 4:2 NIV
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
