Faithfulness: “To” and “With”

I’ve been mulling over the idea of faithfulness as it relates to my work, my relationships, and practically anything I am entrusted with. And I realize, many of us can miss the idea that faithfulness can—and in fact, should—capture two things: Commitment and Stewardship.

Here’s what I mean:

When you say that someone is FAITHFUL TO his wife, what you mean is that this person is wholly committed to his wife. And in this case, given the context of marriage, it implies a level of commitment of the ultimate kind, one that is exclusive. Of course, one can also say that a person is FAITHFUL TO his friends, which in this case conveys not necessarily exclusivity, but loyalty: this is a person who will not betray his friends’ trust. But in both cases, faithfulness here conveys commitment.

On the other hand, when you say that someone is FAITHFUL WITH his finances, you are saying that this person is the type who can be trusted not to waste it. He is diligent and wise in handling money. Perhaps he knows how to stick to a budget, and/or saves regularly.

“Okay, so why should I care? I know that already!” you say.

Well, here is my observation: FAITHFULNESS TO outflows and results into FAITHFULNESS WITHThe latter is difficult (and quite impossible) unless it springs up from the former, and the former is not fully realized unless/until it results in the latter. One cannot really be without the other.

When I think about the things/work I am usually not diligent or FAITHFUL WITH, I realize it usually stems from a lack of real commitment to the task, or the person who entrusted me with it. There is usually a lack of ownership and a sense of responsibility for it. If I will not be accountable for this project, why should I care to do a good job at it?

Conversely, it would be hard to really appreciate nor believe I am FAITHFUL TO my wife, when that stops only at loyalty and exclusivity, and hardly translates into any visible stewarding and growth. If I fast forward to 10 years from now and my in-laws look at my wife and see an always-stressed, always-irritated, disheveled-looking, spiritually-stunted, mentally-unstimulated wife, can I really honestly say I have been FAITHFUL TO her just because I have not slept with another woman? The answer is no.

I want to be a good and faithful servant. My guess is that you do too, whether that be in work, life, and relationships.

Be FAITHFUL TO and be FAITHFUL WITH.

 

 

1 thought on “Faithfulness: “To” and “With””

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