A Lifestyle Of Faithfulness - by Brook Wayne

Not long ago I heard the definition of faithfulness, and a new facet stood out to me that I had not noticed before. This one-word definition has since intrigued me. It is simply and profoundly: lifestyle. A lot is encapsulated in that one word, for not only does it talk about our choices and patterns, but also habits—good and bad—our goals, our beliefs, our purposes in life. In fact, just about anything pertaining to our regular life is included in that one word: lifestyle.

In many ways, our lifestyle much more accurately reveals what we really believe than what we say or would like to think we believe. I might say I believe in keeping a clean and orderly home, but if you were to come over to my house and find it a total mess, you’d have to question how much I really believe in an orderly home. You might even excuse it by thinking it was just one day, and it was only on that particular day that it was a mess. But if you came back again the next week, and the week after, and it was still a mess, it would be valid to question to what degree I really even believe what I said about homes needing to be orderly. My “style of living” spoke more loudly and clearly to tell you what I believe than did my mouth.

Faithfulness, or lifestyle, is of an ongoing nature. It isn’t still or neutral. It is, in a sense, “a living, breathing” thing that has to keep moving and growing, in order to stay alive.
As we see with the servant who hid his one talent in an attempt to be faithful, lack of action proves faithlessness. Thinking of faithfulness in terms of the way in which we live our daily lives gives us a good picture of the total embracing nature faithfulness should have in our moment-to-moment lives. Faithfulness is not the mental acceptance of a set of beliefs and doctrines. Faithfulness is continually being found on the path of righteousness, continually growing and progressing forward toward Christ-likeness.

As 1 John says repeatedly, if we are God’s children, we will do His will, we will obey His commands. If we are going to be found faithful, then we need to be “caught” continually in the act of living God’s will. This faithfulness needs to be integrated into even the tiniest aspects of our lives—so much so that it becomes inseparable from our lifestyle!

Lifestyles don’t often lie. They sing a silent, yet deep, song about our commitment to God. It is the embracing of salvation and Godliness each day, each moment. Lifestyle reveals, over the long-haul, just where our hearts and treasure lie. He who is faithful in the little things will also be faithful in much. He who is dishonest in little will also be dishonest in much.

There aren’t any little moments with God. Each day reveals whether our life is on the path of faithfulness. When we reach the end of the path we’ll hear, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant,” only if we have lived faithfully. Your faithfulness to God may never be proven by dying the death of a martyr, yet your faithfulness will very likely be tested by how you respond to each opportunity to lay down your life, take up your cross, and follow the Lord.
Let us wholeheartedly pray with the Psalmist in fervency, “Oh, that my ways were directed to keep Thy statutes!” (Psalm 119:4)
 

Brook is the wife of Israel Wayne. They are the parents of two children. Brook delights in her calling as a wife and mother and enjoys keeping a home for her family. Brook is a regular columnist for An Encouraging Word magazine.
 

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