Now, I have lived for many, many, many years, and while some people may think that I should be dead by now, apparently, God has a reason for keeping me alive. If it is only to write satire, then I’ll take it! Obviously, as a fictional character, I am composed of stereotypes and exaggerations, which are usually at the heart of satire. That is why when I joke about my life verse being John 4:18, I get a lot of chuckles at the fact I have had five husbands and the one I am living with now does not belong to me. I mean, who has been married five times? Um, okay, so Liz Taylor kind of blew my record out of the water, but anyway…
I guess being married five times can be attributed to lack of commitment, but at times it can be a result of unfaithfulness. Again, as a fictional character, I do not have those details because that would just be weird. Beyond the bond of marriage, we as humans have a lot of experience at “not being faithful.” We may mean well, but once something better gets our attention, the thing which we have been working on quickly gets dropped like a bad habit!
If you have worked for a long time for a particular employer, the tendency is usually to become a bit lackadaisical, which often leads to cutting corners and even taking the schedule lightly. Instead of showing up at 8:00 a.m., you may roll in at 8:30 and not expect to experience any repercussions. For years you may have been faithful to the boss and the time clock, but familiarity replaced the desire to do your best (oh, I’m about to preach here!).
Let’s get back to the marriage analogy because I feel like stepping on some toes. Just because a husband and wife live together does not magically mean that they are faithful. Now I am not insinuating any foul play or infidelity, but lack of concern and loss of love can be early warning signs of impending unfaithfulness. Faithfulness takes effort and does not always come easily, but the Bible tells us to be faithful over and over. In fact, the words we are longing to hear from the Savior one day are, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”
Since we are stewards who live to serve our Master, the only requirement that matters is found in 1 Corinthians 4:2: “Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful.” The idea of the Greek word for steward (oikonomos) is that of a manager, an overseer, or an agent. Never does it imply the role of an owner. Only God is qualified to own us. In fact, 1 Corinthians 6:20 tells us, “For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.”
Some of you may be thinking, “These stinkin’ millennials; they are so lazy and they need a crash course in faithfulness!” Okay, so maybe I was the only one thinking that, but it is not a legitimate argument. I have seen unfaithfulness in every age group, in both genders, and even within the church—make that, especially in the church! When we are unfaithful, we are totally opposite of what God called us to be and we have missed the mark upon which he will judge our efforts in getting his message out: faithfulness.
Think about it this way: “faithful” means to be full of faith. Therefore, the antonym would be “faithless.” So the reason we are not faithful is because we have stopped trusting God. It is not that we do not believe God; it is simply that we do not care what he thinks. We are content to live our own lives, in our own strength, with little to no thought of being obedient to his commands.
This lesson is neither complex nor difficult to understand, but it is not often implemented because we have adopted some of the narcissistic ways of the world and have failed to trust God for our every need. We have made life all about ourselves, which changes our role from “managers” to “owners” and that is dangerous! God clearly said “No other gods before me,” yet many times we have made ourselves to be our own gods. Guess what? Faithfulness to God and idolatry cannot coexist!
God is faithful! Whether reading through the Psalms of David and other psalmists, or reading the epistles of the apostle Paul, God’s faithfulness is a pretty frequent subject in his word. Not only is he faithful, but his faithfulness is great (Lamentations 3:23)! For me, the motivation to be faithful to God in whatever task he gives me to do, whether menial or monumental, is grounded in the fact that he is unwaveringly faithful to me. Over the years, I have observed one thing that is greater than anything else: he is faithful and will never let me down. Are you faithful to the Lord?
- He is Faithful - October 29, 2018
- Who Is Going to Teach Them? - September 17, 2018
- The Dinosaur of R-E-S-P-E-C-T - July 23, 2018
