Recently, courtesy of one of my brothers, my son and I began an exploration of the book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People written by Stephen R. Covey. We are engaged in the study with three other wonderful men and their sons. Though the project is still in its early stages, the experience has proven to be enlightening for my son and me. And I believe for the eight of us as a whole. (I firmly believe that fathers ought to be guiding their sons into manhood).
One of the passions of this generation is the compelling drive for ‘success,’ however you might want to define it, but for many, it is, “making it at all costs.” For them, the end justifies the means. On the other hand, the word prosperity has garnered a life of its own in the Church. It has been both rightly and wrongly, and positively and negatively.
While, in a sense, the concepts of success and prosperity have biblical value, what many believers take prosperity to be and how to achieve it is not any different from the world’s perspective. This is where the wrongly and the negatively have taken the front burner in the matter.
Since the character of the world system and that of members of the body of Christ is (or ought to be) intrinsically or diametrically opposed, just as night and day, we must begin to examine these issues, even if we start at foundational levels. Happily, interventions in this regard are been engaged at high levels in some circles.
Another book, The 7 Habits on the Go: Timeless Wisdom for a Rapidly Changing World, written by Sean Covey, the son of Stephen, takes its inspiration from the original 7 Habits written by his father.
In his book, Sean warns that the title of His father’s books is not The 7 Habits of Highly Successful People or The 7 Habits of Highly Efficient People, which, according to his observation, is how many people around the world refer to his father’s book. And that differentiation caught my attention and inspired this writing.
To be effective in life, we must be faithful. It is a prerequisite if we would live life to the full and have a sense of fulfilment. By the way, having a sense of fulfilment and accomplishment are not the same. There is a sense to fulfilment that is deeper. You can achieve a lot on the outside without being fulfilled as a person on the inside.
I love Stephen Covey’s book. It tends to speak to timeless principles that I believe have biblical support or basis. However, this write-up is not about the book, even though it somehow inspired it.
In one of my books, A Better You: Towards a Meaningful, Purposeful and Fruitful Life, I said the book itself was not about what you are achieving but about what you are becoming. What are the inner core values and principles you have developed over the years which drive your life today?
Moreover, it is required in stewards that one be found faithful -1 Corinthians 4:2 NKJV.
Faithfulness and stewardship go hand in hand. Stewardship means that you have been entrusted with another person’s assets or resources. And faithfulness means that you consistently manage those resources in a way and manner that is in harmony with the character and goals of the one who has entrusted you with his resources.
You do this, having it in mind that though the assets are under your control, they do not belong to you, and so you do not use them to accomplish your own goals. As one translation puts it, our first duty is to be faithful to the One we work for (CEV).
When writing to the Corinthians, Paul argued about his apostolic calling. He stressed that they ought to perceive him and other apostles not as leaders of factions but as servants of the Anointed One. He affirmed that:
The most important quality of one entrusted with such secrets is that they are faithful and trustworthy -1 Corinthians 4:2, TPT.
Being faithful and trustworthy are the most important characteristics of anyone who is entrusted with anything. Paul asks, rhetorically, what is it that we have that was not given to us? Even our very lives have been given to us as a trust. Every action and every detail of our lives must reflect that trust:
Let every detail in your lives – words, actions, whatever – be done in the name of the Master -Colossians 3:17, THE MESSAGE.
There is a principle of faithfulness:
He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much; and he who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much. Therefore, if you have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches? And if you have not been faithful in what is another man’s, who will give you what is your own? -Luke 16:10-12, NKJV.
The Passion Translation puts it this way:
The one who faithfully manages the little he has been given will be promoted and trusted with greater responsibilities. But those who cheat with the little they have been given will not be considered trustworthy to receive more. If you have not handled the riches of this world with integrity, why should you be trusted with the eternal treasures of the spiritual world? Luke 16:10-12, TPT.
Faithfulness is a heart issue. It is a character trait whose outworking is from an inner disposition.
Friend, you may not be talented, but you can be faithful. You might believe you have too many shortcomings and too many personal failures to be of any value to the Master or His use. You might consider yourself unskilled or lacking in worldly goods. However, what is required is your being faithful to the One who called you and chose you to be His own.
Paul said:
Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things — and the things that are not — to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him. It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God — that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. Therefore, as it is written: “Let him who boasts boast in the Lord.” -1 Corinthians 1:26-31, NIV.
Friend, you might not be wise by human standards; you might not be influential or of noble birth, but you can be faithful. You can be faithful to the One who set you apart and anointed you. You can be faithful to the One who called you, even the One who justified you and glorified you (Romans 8:30). No matter your status, you can be faithful to the end. And that is what is required of us. To be faithful!
Thank you.
Do not forget to keep living, loving and learning.
God loves you and so do I!
Image by Kate Townsend on Unsplash
