Faithfulness: where do you stand?

By Kate, on June 27th, 2012

Old Faithful!
(creative commons: flickr by dennis)

But above all, my brethren, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath; but your yes is to be yes, and your no, no, so that you may not fall under judgment. James 5:12

“He who is faithful in a very little thing is faithful also in much; and he who is unrighteous in a very little thing is unrighteous also in much.” Luke 16:10

“And he said to him, ‘Well done, good slave, because you have been faithful in a very little thing, you are to be in authority over ten cities.’ Luke 19:17

Therefore, I was not vacillating when I intended to do this, was I? Or what I purpose, do I purpose according to the flesh, so that with me there will be yes, yes and no, no at the same time? But as God is faithful, our word to you is not yes and no. 2 Cor 1:17-18

Like a bad tooth and an unsteady foot Is confidence in a faithless man in time of trouble. Prov 25:19

Do you consider yourself a faithful person?

Are you someone on whom others can count to do what you say you’ll do?
Do you make sure that you fulfill your commitments?
If you can’t be at something you’ve committed to, do you make sure there is a faithful replacement?
Are you chronically late?
Do others have to scramble to pick up your slack?
Do your fun and pleasure come before your commitments?
Do you find yourself justifying your actions to others and to God?
Is the Holy Spirit pricking your heart to follow through on things when you simply ignore Him and do your own thing?

The way you answer these questions will help to give you an idea if you are a faithful person.

I’ve been talking with a friend who is teaching on faithfulness. One thing we’ve discussed is there is a difference between HAVING FAITH and BEING FAITHFUL. Sometimes we think, “Oh, I’m a believer. That means I’m faithful.” Wrong.

The dictionary says faithful is:

true to one’s word, promises, vows, etc.

reliable, trusted, or believed

Faithfulness is a character quality, one we see exemplified in the life of Jesus. His faithfulness to the Father took Him all the way to the cross. Sometimes our faithfulness (or lack thereof) doesn’t even get us to work, or to a ministry function we’ve committed to, or to get our homework done.

Are you looking to do great things for God? Is your head filled with glorious visions of you as a mighty weapon used by the hand of God? Then look again at the verses above in Luke. God is training you NOW to grow in faithfulness. When He brings the tests, do you pass or fail? Or do you run and hide?

The life of a follower of Jesus is not an easy road. It is one of sacrifice and surrender. It means that we lay down our desires and wants for the glory of God. It means that sometimes we have to “suck it up” and follow through on our commitments, even when we’ll miss out on fun.

Faithfulness is not a word that is often used in our culture today. It’s a hard word and concept. In my father’s day it was just what was expected of you. If you weren’t faithful you were considered a bum or a coward. And that wasn’t even in light of the Kingdom of God.

So, examine your life in light of the scriptures and I’ll examine mine. Let us spur one another on and encourage one another to be faithful followers of Jesus who live out being faithful to all our commitments.