Blogotional: Being Faithful

Tuesday, January 02, 2007

Being Faithful

Jollyblogger borrowed heavily from this piece on "Living with Liberalism: six strategies for faithfulness." It's an interesting piece, but I must confess to not liking combining the words "faithful" and "liberalism" in the title. In the old Soviet Union, people who think like us "conservatives" were considered liberal, while the conservatives were those who held the reigns of power and had much ideologically in common with today's American liberal.

Anyway, the six strategies are good ones:

Nurture marriages for the long term.
Have children and raise families.
Become committed, active members of your church community.
Join a Christian labour union or another work-related association.
Become involved in your country's political life.
Allow all your work to be influenced by your faith.

Numbers one and two are great ideas regardless of setting. It is, in essence, breeding your viewpoint into dominance. Now, bear in mind that breeding is not purely biological. Which means the third one is in the same vein, by actively working in your faith community you breed new faithful.

Numbers four and five are uniquely American opportunities. Which brings me back to my first paragraph. I'd rather look at ways to remain faithful to my Lord when my society, regardless of which direction "liberal" and "conservative" lie in that society, is moving in an antithetical direction. In America four and five are good expressions of that desire, but in other places there might have to be different ways.

But that last one, oh there is the heart of it all.

Eph 6:13 - Therefore, take up the full armor of God, that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm.

Do your actions, in work, in play, in leisure, reflect your faith, nay, your Lord? Why not? What part of the armor is missing?

While we are called to political activism, political activism is not faithfulness. Faithfulness is putting on that whole armor. Faithfulness is is allowing the light of Jesus to shine through all you do in word and deed, at work or at play.

That can only happen when we ourselves are fixing on His guidance and His glory. Have you prayed today? No? - then you are not fixed. Have you consulted the Word today? No? - then you are not fixed. You are not faithful.

We can be faithful, regardless of societal setting. And the key is the same in all those setting.