As Wendell Winkler described it, “Faithfulness is a ‘mind-set’, not a Sunday habit.” When we refer to a particular brother or sister in Christ as “faithful”, we often have reference to their habit of consistent attendance to the worship assemblies of the church. While regular attendance is important, it is not the only measurement of faithfulness. Our loyalty and trustworthiness must be expressed in all aspects of Christian living.
Paul spoke to the need for faithful stewardship among those who preach and teach God’s word. Then, he adds: “it is required of stewards that they be found faithful” (1 Cor. 4:2). While we cannot be stewards of the mysteries of God in the same way as the inspired apostles and prophets, we should hold preaching and teaching opportunities as a sacred responsibility. Many years ago, H.A. Ironside commented on this passage, saying, “The business of a steward is not to electrify people by his eloquent sermons, not to dazzle them by his wonderful ability, not to please them by flowers of rhetoric, not to so speak that he will simply be to them as a ‘lovely song of one that hath a pleasant voice, and can play well on an instrument’…but the business of a servant of Christ is to open up the truth of God, to unfold, to expound, to make known these mysteries in order that the people of God may appreciate the heritage that He has given them in the Word.”
In a similar respect, we are all stewards of the things given to us by God. Peter emphasizes our need for faithfulness in using such blessings, saying, “As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. Whoever speaks, let him speak, as it were the utterances of God; whoever serves, let him do so as by the strength which God supplies; so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belongs the glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen” (1 Pet. 4:10-11). Being faithful involves all aspects of life. Enoch was faithful in life. Job was faithful in trial. Joseph was faithful in temptation. Paul was faithful as he faced death. The point is this: We must be faithful in whatever circumstances we find ourselves by using the gifts and opportunities God has placed at our disposal.
–Glen Elliott–