“And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable men who will also be qualified to teach others.” (2 Tim.2:2)
It’s not easy to find someone who can really be counted on. Some pertinent questions to ask yourself here are, "Who can count on you? Do you have a reputation for being reliable? Would someone who knows you well stake his life on your faithfulness?" Even Prov.20:6 states, "Most men will proclaim every one his own goodness: but a faithful man who can find?" Everyone talks, but when to comes time for the real commitment to happen very few show up. Not everyone who volunteers to serve will actually come through.
Why is faithfulness so important in the Christian life? If for nothing else, it should be because God is faithful, therefore so should we be in all things! Psalm 33:4 says, “He is faithful in all he does." If we are not being faithful, trustworthy in our endeavors where people or God can count on us to be honest, dependable, and/or faithful then we are harboring deceit and evil intent.
Unfaithfulness is the cause of so many problems. Even Prov.25:19 says, “Like a broken tooth or a lame foot is reliance on the unfaithful in a time of trouble." Unreliable people are a pain — like a bad toothache. When you’re depending on an unreliable person, you can never quite relax, you’re always wondering, “Will they let me down again, or will they come through this time?” Working with someone inconsistent and unfaithful is extremely frustrating and hurtful.
We all look for faithfulness in others as we go about our daily activities. We want the mail carrier to be faithful, our Internet to work, our TV's to play, our cars to run. We want the food at my favorite restaurant to be consistent, hot, served right from week to week. The most famous geyser in America is Old Faithful at Yellowstone National Park. It’s not the most powerful geyser but what makes it famous is its faithfulness! It’s like clockwork - dependable! People appreciate dependability, even in a geyser. We can learn a lesson from Old Faithful. The duration of your life is of less importance to God than how dependable you are in your life. Do you take what you’ve learned from God and pass it on to others? Can other brothers and sisters in Christ count on you to be there, to be a good example, to teach truth, to inspire spiritual life? Can your family, spouse count on you to be a good and dependable provider, role model - partner in life?
When we have a car that we depend on to get to work or go somewhere, but it is always breaking down, always having something wrong with it, always needing coaxing - we get rid of it to get something more dependable.
What do you need to change in your life so you can begin living a dependable godly significance?
Jim
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