FAITHFULNESS

"Great is thy faithfulness morning by morning new mercies i see"......We all know the song.This is the third series on values. I am taking a look at faithfulness today. What really is faithfulness? What does really mean to be faithful? Can we say someone who keeps money for others without touching it is faithful? Lets see what the dictionary defines faithfulness as. It is being loyal, constant, staunch, steadfast, resolute mean firm in adherence to whatever one owes allegiance it also implies unswerving adherence to a person or thing or to the oath or promise by which a tie was contracted. Again, it can be described as the concept of unfailingly, remaining loyal to someone or something and putting that loyalty into consistent practice, regardless of extenuating circumstances. So we can say that faithfulness is being consistent to a promise or person. In our dear country of ours, it is really hard to find a faithful person. People say yes at this time and say no at another time. The Bible says that God is too faithful to fail. Do you know what that means, he cannot change his word. So how can we as human beings imbibe such character and transfer such to others around us.I believe so strongly in values, because once a man's value system changes either for good or evil, his life must align either way. Let us look consider these thoughts and evaluate our life if we truly are faithful people:

1. Do you possess the right values?

A faithful person knows what’s important in life and what isn’t important in life.  A faithful person knows how to invest his or her life.  A faithful person makes their life count.  A faithful person knows the significant apart from the trivial. Proverbs 28:20 says, “A faithful man will be richly blessed but one eager to get rich will not go unpunished.”  This verse contrasts faithfulness with a desire to get rich quick.  He’s not talking about making money.  He’s saying that what we have to realize is there is more to life than just the accumulation of things.  The Bible says we’re to live like fish swimming upstream in a very materialistic world.  Faithfulness is proven by our refusal to buy into the system that says the almighty buck is the number one thing in life.  Faithfulness is often proven by choosing of a simplified lifestyle to allow more time for ministry. You will go into leadership with the mindset of amassing wealth for you and even generations yet unborn but to help others and make an impact. Martin Luther King Jnr, Nelson Mandela, Mother Theresa, even our Lord Jesus Christ just to mention a few are examples of selfless people who just wanted to impact society. They saw something wrong and that spurred up a cause for them. We too can be mentioned one day.

2. Do you care for the interests of others?

The second way God is going to judge our faithfulness is our relationship to other people.  Did we care
about the relationships of others and not just our own relationships? Faithfulness swims against the stream of contemporary culture, which says, “What’s in it for me?  What are my needs, my ambitions, my desires, my goals, my hurts, my values, my profit, my benefit?”  But God says faithfulness is proven by our others-directedness and by giving our life away, by looking at others rather than concentrating on ourselves. On the last day the Bible says he will cast some people into hell. Why?  I quote "When I was hungry you did not give me food, When  I was in the prison you did not come to visit me". I am not saying here that we should just kill yourself for others. I mean even the Bible says "Love your neighbour as yourself"

3. Do you live with integrity before an unbelieving world?

In other words, a mark of faithfulness is the kind of testimony you have with unbelievers.  The Bible teaches that a pastor is to be above reproach in the community and to have a good reputation, not with believers, but with unbelievers.  When God evaluates your faithfulness, He won’t be looking at your communication skills but He will be examining the way in which you walked before those who are outside the faith.

4. Do you keep your promises?

When God evaluates your faithfulness, He’s going to look at all the promises you made.  Proverbs 20:25 “It is a trap to dedicate something rashly and only later consider your vow.”   I take pity on politicians that swear an oath and do otherwise when they get in. It’s easier to get into debt than to get out of debt – that’s making a promise to pay.  It’s easier to get into a relationship than out of a relationship.  It’s easier to fill up your schedule than it is to fulfill your schedule.  The Bible is saying that faithfulness is a matter of if you say it, you do it.  You keep your promises.

5. Do you develop your God-given gifts?

There’s a tremendous emphasis in the Bible on using the gifts and the talents God has given you. God has made an investment in your life and He expects a return on it. 1 Peter 4:10 says, “Each should use whatever spiritual gift he has received to serve others faithfully, administering God’s grace in its various forms.”  Notice it says if you don’t use your spiritual gift, people are getting cheated. Faithfulness is based on what we do with what we have.

6. Do you obey God’s commands?

1 Samuel 2:35 god says “I will raise up a faithful priest to serve me and do whatever I tell him to do”  Circle “do whatever I tell him to do”.  God defines faithfulness as obedience to the commands of Christ.  We can be skilled leaders and communicators, but disobedience disqualifies us from being seen as faithful as God defines it. This is basic, but its essential.

7. Do you pass on what you learn?

The Bible talks a lot about the transferring process of multiplication. The is the part where i think that you have truly lived. It is not enough to amass knowledge and gracefully hoard such to yourself. This way, everyone becomes a better person. Imagine if Jesus decided to be on his own when he was here on earth. How would we have known about the good news if it was not transferred hence the spread and multiplication. You’re to give what you learn to faithful men and those faithful men are to give it to others, and so on.  None of us would be here today if there hadn’t been faithful men and women in the last 2000 years of the church. We’re leading today because some faithful men and women took time to write down the Scriptures, and others preserved the Scriptures, and others translated the Scriptures. We are here because some people took their time to fight for our independence.  We’re here because of the testimony of faithful people.If God teaches you a spiritual truth and you’re learning a spiritual truth, it’s your duty to pass it on to others. How do I become faithful?  Galatians 5:22-23 says, “The fruit of the Spirit is faithfulness.”  It’s one of the nine fruits.


This is to spur us to do live by our words. To steer our hearts to imbibe the right values and infect others with such. It begins with you.



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