Seven Threads of Faithfulness

Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful.—1 Corinthians 4:2

By Rick Suraci

Throughout history there have been faithful men of God. From righteous Abel to the present time the lives of certain individuals have shown their top priority to be serving the heavenly Father. Each of them differed, but there were at least seven things they all had in common. These seven common threads might be labeled the seven threads of faithfulness. These were the secrets of their success. We might be helped to learn them by assigning each to a successive letter in the word "secrets."

Sense of Purpose

The first requirement for faithfulness is a sense of purpose. It is helpful to write down an objective statement for our life. Writing this statement can be critical, because the greatest delusion in life is thinking about a goal or objective but never truly making it our own. It can be as simple as "I delight to do thy will, O my God" or as complex as we care to make it.

This simple exercise will continually remind us of the goals we are striving for in our Christian life and help us to overcome any fear of failure that accompanies any firm objective. They provide a target at which to aim. Whatever their detail, they should come down to one bottom line: "my goal is Christ, and Christ alone."

Only those who early establish these goals will fully realize them, for there are many pitfalls in between. Having established our objectives, we need to continually review them. Only by constantly placing our eyes on the goal shall it ever be attained.

Excellence

Once we determine what manner of person we desire to be, we need to strive to be the best of that kind of person. The Christian needs to establish ideals. These represent the picture of what he wants to become.

The pianist who seeks to become a Paderewski, the athlete who desires to emulate Michael Jordan, the scientist who models his career after Albert Einstein—these are the ones who excel. The flawless model for the Christian is Jesus of Nazareth. The Apostle Paul not only tried to personally copy Christ but encouraged others to do likewise: "Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ" (1 Cor. 11:1).

Just this kind of excellence is what Paul urges in Romans 12:6-8, "Through the grace of God we have different gifts. If our gift is preaching, let us preach to the limit of our vision. If it is serving others let us concentrate on that service; if it is teaching let us give all we have to our teaching; and if our gift be the stimulating of the faith of others let us set ourselves to it. Let the man who is called to give, give freely; let the man who wields authority think of his responsibility; and let the sick visitor do his job cheerfully" (Phillips’ translation).

One thing is certain. We will never achieve more than our ideals. Therefore let us set our ideals high so that even if we fail to attain all, we achieve more than we would with lesser goals.

Contribution

Ideals, however, are meaningless unless we strive to reach them. Christian ideals can be achieved only through a life of contribution, continually putting in more value than you take out. Contribution means being a giver. One thing we can control in our lives is service to others, how much we put in, and most importantly, how much of our heart is in that contribution. Paul admonishes us in Galatians 6:4 to "let every man prove his own work, and then he shall have rejoicing in himself alone and not in another." Evaluate the strength of heart behind your contribution. The famous words of John Kennedy’s inaugural speech, "Ask not what your country can do for you but what you can do for your country," find their counterpart in the Christian striving to reach his heavenly country.

The contributions we make to the Lord’s cause are not only financial but include dedicating time, talents, influence, our very beings to serve his cause. The familiar baptismal hymn encourages asking the Lord to take "my life, my hands, my feet, my voice, my lips, my silver and my gold, my moments and my days, my intellect, my will, my heart, my love," and finally, "take myself, I wish to be ever, only, all for thee." Another hymn puts it more simply:

Responsibility

It is one thing to make a commitment to a life of contribution, but such commitment must be carried out in real life. We must accept personal responsibility for doing that which we promised. "When thou vowest a vow unto God, defer not to pay it; for he hath no pleasure in fools: pay that which thou hast vowed. Better is it that thou shouldest not vow, than that thou shouldest vow and not pay" (Eccl. 5:4, 5).

Three pitfalls in the acceptance of personal responsibility are: (1) making excuses; (2) blaming others; and (3) focusing on problems rather than solutions. If the Christian continually falls prey to these pitfalls, how can he be entrusted with the immensely greater responsibilities of reigning with Christ in the life to come. The measure of our accepting responsibility now is the measure by which we shall be judged as to our future work for the Lord. "He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much" (Luke 16:10).

This principle is well illustrated in the parable of the talents, "His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord" (Matt. 25:21).

By taking responsibility for keeping his commitment, the Christian can finish his course with joy. "Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall" (2 Peter 1:10).

Effort

The commitment of consecrated living is not easy. Faithfulness has never been proven only in the sunshine of life but must be demonstrated during the dark storms of trial and trouble as well. In the latter conditions continuous effort is required.

Trusting God where he cannot be traced, following the footsteps of Christ when they lead through misunderstanding and persecution, proving faithful when faith itself is weak—these are the true tests of Christian character.

Paul’s litany of experiences in 2 Corinthians 11:23-28 shows the effort of one committed Christian to demonstrate his faithfulness: "Are they ministers of Christ? (I speak as a fool.) I am more; in labors more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequent, in deaths oft. Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one. Thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I have been in the deep; In journeyings often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren; In weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness. Beside those things that are without, that which cometh upon me daily, the care of all the churches."

After having gone through this list of perils, Paul did not feel confident of having achieved the victory, but said, "Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before" (Phil. 3:13). And again: "I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway" (1 Cor. 9:27).

Unflagging effort is required, not just for the short run but over the entire Christian race course. "Be thou faithful unto death and I will give thee the crown of life" (Rev. 2:10).

Time Management

Time is both the Christian’s richest asset and also his rarest quality. The world has many allurements to attract our attention and call for our time. Many of these are necessary things. We all need time for work, for food, for sleep. If we have a home, its upkeep requires time. If we have a family, they justly require time.

The admonition of the Apostle Paul is simple: "See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, Redeeming the time, because the days are evil" (Eph. 5:15, 16).

Management of the twenty-four hours we are given daily is a formidable task that requires prioritization. Nor can we simply say, "spiritual things come first." Certain natural obligations are just and right. "But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel" (1 Tim. 5:8). "Provide things honest in the sight of all men" (Rom. 12:17).

A wife and children hold first mortgage upon our time. There are times when even spiritual things need to be set aside to spend quality time with our family, to play with a child, help them with their homework, or to walk and talk with our mate. Decisions must constantly be made as to what things are needful and which are self-serving. It is the latter cases that call for self-sacrifice. Often our time is engaged in things that are not sinful but which serve the flesh rather than the spirit. It is helpful to recall the words of the hymn:

Self-Examination

"But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup" (1Cor. 11:28). "Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?" (2 Cor. 13:5). Because the Christian race is a long one and requires the runner to keep his eye on the goal, it is well that he often assesses his condition.

When we find ourselves slacking our pace, it is time to rededicate and call to mind our original commitment. Self-examination needs to be a constant matter of prayer, for we often do not know our own heart. "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?" (Jer. 17:9). It is comforting in this regard to recall the words of John, "For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things. Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God" (1 John 3:20, 21).

Self examination should lead to renewed effort and not to a state of depression. Our goals are worthy goals. Our race is an honorable race which requires constant diligence. We need to examine our heart to see if the motive is pure. We need to examine our service to see if we are yielding our all. We need to examine God’s word to see if we correctly understand its principles.

Faithfulness, then, requires steady application of spiritual principles. Having established a sense of purpose, let us strive for excellence by committing ourselves to it and taking the responsibility thereof with great effort so that, through proper management of our time and through constant self-examination, we may obtain the prize set before us.

Let us, therefore, join with the Apostle Paul in saying, "I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus" (Phil. 3:14).