The Magnitude of Faithfulness

When it comes to measuring the true fiber of a person I just don’t think there is anything more telling than the loyalty, or faithfulness of someone’s heart. Jesus told us in regard to what we do with our money, “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also” (Mat. 6:21). The obvious connotation there is that our heart is revealed by what we do with our money. By the same token our loyalty is revealed by what we do in our relationships. The reason that Jesus gave us the example of adultery in regard to a legitimate reason for divorce, is simply because adultery is an evident act of betrayal, or unfaithfulness (Mat. 19:9). Adultery isn’t the only act that can manifest betrayal of the marriage covenant, but it is an easily recognized and acknowledged example. If our heart is loyal to our husband or wife we just don’t commit adultery, nor do we want to. But loyalty and faithfulness is tried in all of our relationships, not just marriage. If someone commits something that is important to them to our confidence, and we tell it to someone else, then we have been disloyal and unfaithful in our relationship with that person. So what exactly is the problem there? Obviously someone’s heart is not faithful, and if our heart is unfaithful to a person then our heart is unfaithful to God. It really is that simple. God gives us relationships in this life and he expects us to cherish and value them. We won’t be here long, and how we deal with one another in this lifetime will determine whether we are saved or lost in the end (Mat. 7:12). So relationships are very, very important; and we should fear God with much honesty and humility of heart in how we treat them. Our loyalty in relation to those we have in our sphere of living are tried in many ways, and it is very integral that we honestly understand what is acceptable and what is not, in terms of maintaining faithful relations with those around us. In short order it is safe to say that nothing should cause us to forsake our loyalty to someone and our relationship with them unless they have just become wicked, and we must avoid them in order to not be a partaker of their wickedness. Even then we should not forsake our love for someone, and we should maintain prayer for them and demonstrate love to them when it is possible to do so.

Everyone has problems and struggles, and that is one of the biggest reasons WHY everyone needs those around them to be loyal to them in love and understanding, rather than to withdraw from them. The apostle Paul drove this point home clearly: “Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted. Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ” (Gal. 6:1,2). James told us, “For in many things we [all offend]” (Jas. 3:2). In light of this statement it should be no surprise that it was he who gave us the following heartfelt instruction: “Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed” (Jas. 5:6). Only when someone has become defiant about holding to a wicked thing should we break our relationship with them and withdraw from them. But even if we find ourselves in that circumstance we should consider and heed the admonition of the apostle Paul about such things: “And if any man obey not our word by this epistle, note that man, and have no company with him, that he may be ashamed. Yet count him not as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother” (II Thess. 3:14,15). If someone has turned to wickedness, our objective becomes to win them back to holiness, and that cannot be done if no love at all is shown to them. If we fail the way of righteousness then we are severed from fellowship with God, but he never ceases to seek for our restoration and redemption. If he did then we would all be in a lot of trouble, neither would we have any way out of that trouble. Possibly the greatest of all the promises of God is not limited to the condition that we are doing perfectly at all times, or that we never fail in a big way: “For he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee” (Heb. 13:5). If God were not faithful in his undying love for his children who have fallen into disobedience, Jesus would not have given us parables like ‘the lost sheep’ and the 'lost coin’ found in Luke 15.

I see far too much disloyalty in relationships among God’s people, and I see far too many excuses used for this failure. There’s even the excuse of “preferring the Lord over everyone,” and it is usually a stink in the nostrils of God. As I stated previously, the only time preferring God over someone means that you withdraw yourself from them, is if and when they have simply become wicked. If you have made that determination you had better hope that God is also in agreement with your defining of 'wickedness.’ If we make the wrong determination in these things it will invariably create a space in our heart where God’s love cannot dwell, and that can only lead to something bad. A prime example of 'something bad’ in this case would be what Jesus warned us about: “And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another… And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold” (Mat. 24:10,12). That kind of thing doesn’t happen overnight my friend, and it only happens while someone thinks they are walking in love just fine. There’s just far too much disloyalty in relationships among God’s people, and far too many flimsy excuses and self-deceptions to support it all. A whole lot of folks need to read, believe, and heed what the scriptures say about how the love of God behaves in our lives: “[Love] suffereth long, and is kind; [love] envieth not; [love] vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up… Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things” (I Cor. 13:4,7). I believe if we want God to suffer long with us, and to bear and endure us; it makes real good sense that we should be that way with one another. After all, the scriptures do tell us that we reap what we sow, and Jesus clearly told us that what we do to one another is what we are doing to him; whether for good or for bad (Gal. 6:7; Mat. 25:40,45). He made it equally as clear that how we deal with one another will determine how we fare on the day of judgment (Mat. 25:34,46). I don’t think it’s a good idea that we should lean on unacceptable reasons to leave off loyalty in our relationships that God has given us in this life. Jesus is called “Faithful and True,” and if we plan on hanging out with him for eternity we are going to have to be called the same by him (Rev. 19:11; Rev. 17:14). I’ve written a lot on this topic in the last several months. I’m beginning to wonder how many more times I can write the same article in a little different way. Time will tell. God bless.