Are we Faithful?
Nehemiah 7:2 that I gave the charge of Jerusalem to my brother Hanani, and Hananiah the leader of the citadel, for he was a faithful man and feared God more than many.
Proverbs 20:6 Most men will proclaim each his own goodness, But who can find a faithful man?
What are the Characteristics of a Faithful Person?
1. He or she is trustworthy or dependable—you can give them a job and a deadline and expect them to do what they are supposed to do when they are supposed to do it. That is the mark of a good employee, of a good mechanic or carpenter or handyman. I have known a few people like this in my life time, but I have known more who took on jobs that they couldn’t or wouldn’t do. Sometimes they made promises that they couldn’t or wouldn’t keep. I started buying cars with warranties so that I didn’t have to deal with mechanics who were not faithful. I figured they could sort out their mischief with the people who provided the warranty rather than with me. There are some plumbers that have cost me more money than they are worth because they not only had to come back twice, but in some cases, their leaks caused problems that had to be repaired by other plumbers.
2. He or she tells the truth—you can shake their hand on a business deal and expect them to live up to their promises. They keep their promises to their spouses, children and friends.
3. He or she is loyal–they are willing to diefend you when necessary. A loyal person is also an honest person and will constructively criticize where necessary. But a loyal person will never say one thing to your face and another thing behind your back. A loyal person wants what is best for their boss or employer or friend. They aren’t constantly “using” them to accomplish their own agendas. Some people are only faithful to their friends or family or associations. A person can be faithful to one group while being completely deceptive and undependable when it comes to others.
4. A faithful person doesn’t have to tell everyone how faithful they are–others will take care of that for them. When someone continues to “blow their own horn” it is usually because others are not praising them and often there is a reason for that.
Who do we know that is truly Faithful?
God found Moses to be faithful (Numbers 12:7). Nehemiah found his brother Hananiah to be a faithful man and it was apparently due to his fear of God. We know that when it comes to faithfulness to the Lord, most of those that we would call faithful to the Lord failed at some juncture in their life. However, their hearts were always loyal and their failures were a time for tears. King David would be one who failed the Lord and his fellow man but always remained loyal to the Lord. Peter denied the Lord, but he always loved the Lord. And of course the best example of faithfulness is the Lord Himself. He was faithful to His Father and He was faithful to the people in this world whether they were Jews or Gentiles.
Some of us are looking for people to be faithful to us. We want people who will defend us when others criticize us. We want emotional support when life becomes a struggle. But if we want that, how much more does the Lord want and deserve that? How many of us are really willing to be dependable with regard to his moral and ceremonial requests? The Sermon on the Mount lays out the moral desires of the Lord. Those issues go to motive which only the Lord really knows. The Corinthian epistles and the epistles to Timothy and Titus are the best places to go to find out what pleases the Lord in the ceremonies and gatherings of the local church. Are we willing to be completely devoted to the Lord and faithful to his desires even when popular opinion differs from what is written in God’s faithful word?
What about Me?
We know that we cannot truly be faithful to the Lord without believing in Him. We can’t just believe about Him, we must trust Him. I settled that issue many years ago. We cannot be faithful to the Lord without following His instructions on baptism. We know baptism never saved anyone from an eternity in hell, but it is the way to take our public stand with the Lord. Once baptized we are no longer identified with the world system that rejects the Lord. Baptism is always by immersion and it occurs after we have trusted the Lord.. It is a public declaration of our new found faith in the Lord, and it is a declaration that we have a desire to be faithful to Him.
Lord help us to be among the faithful. Help us to be loyal and trustworthy to the Lord and to our friends, family and neighbors.
Bruce Collins
Meditation for the week of March 5, 2017