I grew up in an environment with a very specific and undiscerning defined idea of what it looked like to be faithful. Faithfulness was attached only to loyalty, service, attendance, fidelity, or to say yes to opportunities. Being faithful is not limited to these attributes. It goes beyond to attest not just what we do but who we are. It is not only a product of the actions that we take but also the postures of our hearts. Yes, being faithful may involve actual work, but this needs to be prompted by the mind first before being carried out by the aforementioned attributes.
Today’s episode encourages us to think about how we’re living the word ‘faithfulness’ in our relationship with people. What is keeping us from being faithful? What binds us up to the chains of unfaithfulness? How we relate our daily lives to be faithful to ourselves, faithful to God, and faithful to others.
To be faithful is to be obedient, to be humble, to be sacrificial, to serve, to be motivated, to love, to be focused, to be enduring, and to be forgiving. It is propelled by the spirit and acted by the physical.
Being faithful entails less of what we do and more of why we do it, how we’re doing it, when we’re doing it, and who we’re doing it for. How available we are, how teachable we are, and how flexible we are in our relationship with others.
A faithful person is a humble person who exemplifies love in every ramification. He is not concerned about being liked by everyone but by the humility, sacrifice, and love in the services he renders. The level in which one is seen as trustworthy, responsible, reliable, and dependable determines the level of their faithfulness. A faithful person is a person of strong character, one that quietly but convincingly says to the other fellow, you can always count on me.
The growing feeling of entitlement in our society has made many feel they deserve some good life without going through what it takes to earn that. They want a prestige, a position, and an honour without having to pay the price through faithful service. They seek a career path without seeking a character class. They want the tip without the toil, the sweet without the sweat, the gain without the grind, the perks without the perseverance, and the prize without the pain. They make faithfulness through duty, hard work, and diligence, a rare attribute in all.
It is a sloppy generation that struggles with being faithful and easily covers up for the unfaithfuls. Things as little as returning calls, responding to email, doing quality work or finishing on promised time, waking up at set time, being timely in gatherings and events, meeting deadlines, redeeming pledges, or following through on promises, are taking well for granted.
The level of our faithfulness determines the level of our value and the depth of our character. Children and youths who desire a good life and want more in their endeavours should start by doing the little they are given faithfully. Their faithfulness at home, in school, and society shouldn’t be shredded by the wrong chase and pursuit of having it in their way regardless of what it costs them. They should quit chasing after the wrong thing or do just enough to get by. Instead, they should do “exceeding abundantly” all that’s required from them as written in Ephesians 3:20.
If you’re not a trusted friend, if you don’t fulfil your promise to others, if you’re not reliable, if people can’t count on you, if you don’t deliver on jobs excellently, if you’re a habitual debtor, then you’re not faithful. Some help we seek are far away from us due to our habits of unfaithfulness. He who is known for carelessness and reckless living can not be trusted with a loan or a help by anyone.
That employer, administrator, supervisor, leader, and person in charge of authority watches his team and knows who is honest, respectful, diligent, loyal, and faithful. He knows those with charismatic personality, those with persuasive skills, and also those with reckless manoeuvring minds. He rewards and promotes each according to how faithful they are.
*BIBLE VERSE*
*1 Corinthians 4:2*
*Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful*
*PROVERBS*
*“Birds sing not because they have answers but because they have songs”*
*RIDDLE*
*What belongs to the competent, the patient, and the faithful?*
*Amara Ann Unachukwu*
