Faithfulness as Success

"Well done, good and faithful servant!" - Matthew 25:21

Faithfulness is what God asks of us, it is what determines whether or not we've accomplished our purpose, and it is what earns the reward of our Maker's approval.  It is a spirit of faithfulness that produces obedience.  The difficulty with faithfulness to God is that it is terribly narrow minded.  The first call to faithfulness toward God is: "There are no other God's before me".  Faithfulness toward God means that there is only one master, one Lord, one to whom we are called to be ultimately faithful.  Thankfully, God's infinite wisdom and love directs us to be the best person we can be when we are faithful to Him.  Our righteousness in relationships with others is at its richest when we are being faithful to God and God alone.  Still, it is impossible to be faithful to one God without simultaneously being unfaithful to a host of others.  I cannot be faithful to a God of generosity and a god of greed at the same time, either he will hate the one and love the other or be devoted to one and despise the other (Matt 6:24).  In ministry, I struggle with such singular and focused allegiance.  I want to please God and please the people around me.  I want to speak truth without hurting anyones feelings.  I want to make kingdom-of-heaven building decisions and still appease the kingdom-of-this-world.  The harsh truth is that I can't.  I have to make a choice: Who will I be faithful to?  And because the only one who has ever been able to make my life provide real and lasting good for myself and the people around me is Jesus Christ, I'm going to be faithful to Him.  Even if it means I'm unfaithful to some other power, value, or norm.  Even if that power, value, or norm is embedded in the attitudes of the people I care about and serve.  For I cannot be eternally faithful to anyone I love and care about if I am not first faithful to the God who knows how to love them perfectly and into wholeness.  God, grant us the grace to be faithful to you alone in our families, our church, and our world.