Whatever you do, be faithful
Luke 16:16 is a very powerful statement: "Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much." The King James version says "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."
This passage is equating trust with faithfulness. Often times these are qualities that are missing in the world and sad to say, often in the church and in followers of Christ. Instead of starting at the bottom and being faithful in learning a craft or a ministry we want to be at the top immediately. An artist wants to become famous overnight; an entrepreneur wants to get rich overnight. An actor/actress wants headline roles overnight. A young person who feels called to a youth ministry or to pastoring wants the position now without doing the hard work of studying the word, or receiving counsel from an older, wiser minister. A person feels led to be a worship leader but doesn't want to take the time to study and hone his/her abilities, to learn from those more experienced. There doesn't seem to be time enough to be an apprentice and to learn to be faithful.
The lack of faithfulness is one of the character qualities I have heard pastors bemoan over and over. Someone is assigned to a task and says, "Oh sure, I'll do that," and then never shows up or they call to say they can't come when it's too late to get someone else to do the job. This is one reason why pastors are often overworked. It's just easier to do things themselves than to depend on someone who is not dependable.
Luke 19:17 emphasizes this same message. (Sorry about jumping ahead to Saturday's devotion!!) A servant was given one mina (about three months' wages) and invested it for a gain of ten percent. The king said, "Well done, my good servant. Because you have been trustworthy in a very small matter, take charge of ten cities." The King James Version says, "because you hast been faithful in a very little have thou authority over ten cities." What a contrast. To go from having charge of three month's wages to ruling over ten cities. It isn't required that we perform some large feat to receive the Lord's praise, but only that we be faithful.
Psalm 15:4 gives one of the qualities for those who may live on God's holy hill. Those who keep their oath even when it hurts. In other words, you say you will do something, then something comes up that you would rather do, but you gave your word, so you stick to it, even if it means missing something fun or rewarding. These might not be big things, but in God's eyes your word is a big thing. Maybe it's promising to be there to set up for church or tear down, work in the nursery or with very small children, babysit so a mom can attend a women's meeting, go shopping for a shut in, etc., etc.
Colossians 3:23. "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward." If we have this attitude, that everything we do we're doing for the Lord it would put a whole different slant on our attitude. I'm not doing what I do for the pastor or to earn the praise of other people but I am doing this task, this job, this duty as working for the Lord. What greater promise is there than to receive an inheritance from the Lord.
Whatever you do, do it with all your might, and above all be faithful.
Tomorrows Bible Reading - 1 Chronicles 7, Ezekiel 20, Luke 17
God is good all the time,
2 comments:
Faithfulness is so important and so overlooked! Wonderful blog, I am looking forward to hearing more wisdom tonight at the ladies event! Thank you!
Your devotionals are inspiring and insightful! Thank you for writing them!
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