MIF 3:5 (Sept-Oct 1971)
Editorial
Faithfulness
It is predicted of our blessed Lord, “Righteousness shall be the girdle of His loins, and faithfulness the girdle of His reins” (Isa. 11:5).
Here character is symbolized by the clothing He would wear, and one of the most important parts of His limited wardrobe is mentioned, the girdle that would hold His long garments lest they impede His activities and at the same time give support to His back. In His rule as the Son of Man, righteousness will support His government as it deals with His enemies, and faithfulness will support it in the fulfilment of every divine promise and prophecy relative to His kingdom.
Inasmuch as faithfulness is a quality of character, how may it be defined? It has been implied that faithfulness is unrestricted allegiance to a person or a cause. In other words, that it is an unreserved commitment to an object.
Faithfulness is manifested by fidelity, stability, trustworthiness and constancy. In the days of Jehovah king of Judah, money was collected for the repairing of the temple, and it is said of the treasurers, “They reckoned not with the men, into whose hands they delivered the money … for they were faithful” (2 Kings 12:15).
At times friendship suffers from disloyalty and betrayal, business from dishonour and fraud, and even our national life suffers from treachery and villainy.
Notwithstanding what goes on in the world, the Christian should be faithful toward all; his yes should mean yes, and his no, mean no.
An ancient biblical proverb reads, “A faithful man shall abound with blessing: but he that maketh haste to be rich shall not be innocent” (Proverb 28:20).
The man who seeks to accumulate material wealth quickly, frequently becomes guilty of deceit and fraud, and will not go unpunished. In contrast, the faithful man who lives objectively and sacrificially will receive due compensation for his fidelity. The stable trustworthy Christian will receive multiple blessings from both God and man.