Moreover it is required in stewards that a man be found faithful. 1 Corinthians 4:2
Someone close to me had a debt that needed to be paid on a certain date. But he was extremely busy at a job that required he be present every day. So he asked a friend of his – I’ll call him Bill – to take the money and pay the amount owing. He impressed on his friend the need to have the debt paid on or before the due date. His friend assured him that he would meet the deadline. A couple of weeks later, the sheriff arrived to collect the money. The friend had failed to pay the debt on time! Never again was that friend trusted with anything important; he was a man who could not be trusted; he was a steward who was not faithful. Can God trust you and me as His stewards?
The word ‘faithful’ in our text means trustworthy or believable. It refers to people we can count on to do as they say, to be where they say they will be, to stand for what they profess. Although far too scarce, such people are the backbone of everything that goes on in life. When given responsibilities, they give their word and live up to that word. They are respected. And they put to shame those who do not live up to their word, the promise-breakers, the folks who nobody believes when they declare their intentions. When it comes to our testimony as Christians, we must be among those who are counted faithful.
Firstly, we must be faithful to our Lord. He has given us the responsibility to represent Him in this world, to speak for Him, to be obedient to Him, to display to those around us His love and righteousness. Our perfect Example always displayed the attributes of His Father when He was in this world. And that should be our goal. When we draw near to God in prayer, can we do so with a clear conscience, knowing that we have faithfully represented Him?
We must also be faithful in our dealings with our family and with our fellow believers. Can those who are close to us depend on us to respect their requests for confidence, to provide them with assistance when they ask, or to keep all the promises we make to them? A Christian who is faithful to family and fellow believers is a valuable treasure, a Christian who is not faithful to family and fellow believers is a joke.
The same goes for our dealings with the world. When we make a promise, is it kept? When presented with an opportunity to display the love of Christ in caring and compassion to others, do we accept the challenge? When presented with an opportunity to share the Gospel with a seeking soul, do we do so? To the extent that those around us know that because we are Christians, they can trust us, to that extent we are faithful.
Faithfulness is one of the most important aspects of being a Christian. We will be judged on that. -Jim MacIntosh