Faithfulness means being a person who can be trusted in word, work, and actions. We nurture it in our players and look for it in our colleagues and friends. It’s a quality we deeply appreciate because we live in a culture that too often affirms faithless actions.

 

In Matthew 5:33–37, Jesus told his disciples that they should be known so well for their integrity that they should never have to take an oath. He taught them to “let your word ‘yes’ be  ‘yes’ and your word ‘no’ be ‘no’ ”(Mt 5:33–37; see Jms 5:12). But instead of oaths, today we have legal contracts. Fifty years ago a handshake was considered binding, but today our word means little to others in a society that does not honor integrity.

 

Yet, faithfulness is not just keeping our word; it is telling the truth. We must speak the truth because lying is a violation of trust. Faithfulness is a consistency of words and deeds, one that shows others we can be counted on to do our jobs just as much as people can count on our character to do the right thing.

 

However, none of us can be faithful in our words or actions in our own strength. Only God, in the person of Jesus Christ, is wholly consistent and faithful. In fact, His word was the same thing as His deed. Not only did God tell the world He loved us; He was willing to show the world that same message through the sacrificial death of His only Son on the cross for our sake. When we receive God’s faithful truth in our lives, we begin to reflect that same faithfulness to others.