This week at CREATE we talked with our group on the topic of faithfulness and loyalty. We also talked about unfaithfulness and disloyalty.
It's clear that faithfulness and loyalty are important in a marriage. Someone asked, "Where else do you find it important to be both faithful and loyal?" How about in our workplace and friendships?
“Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches? And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else’s property, who will give you property of your own?”
The effects of disloyalty
As sad as it is, we all have faced or have experienced someone being unfaithful or disloyal to us. How about this: maybe you have been unfaithful or disloyal in some way?
What does disloyalty and unfaithfulness do to a person? Many of us shared that it breaks trust and closes doors in ourselves and on others. It can make you question every relationship. Sometimes being mistreated can lead us to mistreat others.
Andrea shared a little about her upbringing when she was a little girl and how she didn't have a good relationship with her mom. Andrea mentioned that she lived in a house filled with lies, and watched as her mom went from husband to husband. When someone grows up having to deal with something like that you tend to build a wall around yourself even if you don't know you are doing it. You get comfy living in your own world just to get by. It's hard to know how to have a healthy relationship when you didn't grow up being around thoughtful loving people like your parents or other adults.
Faithfulness
We must cling to faithfulness and loyalty because:
- God says so
- It sets a great example for your own children and family
- It's rare
“Blessed is the one
who does not walk in step with the wicked
or stand in the way that sinners take
or sit in the company of mockers,
but whose delight is in the law of the Lord,
and who meditates on his law day and night.
That person is like a tree planted by streams of water,
which yields its fruit in season
and whose leaf does not wither—
whatever they do prospers.
Not so the wicked!
They are like chaff
that the wind blows away.
Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.
For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked leads to destruction.”
At the end of the evening we took a few minutes and wrote down our prayers about our relationships and ways we can be more loyal and faithful. Some people prayed out loud in the group.
A prayer
Lord, please be with the ones who have experienced someone being unfaithful, disloyal or hurt them in anyway. Some people have been praying to be set free of the pain of their past and yet still not totally free. Please comfort the ones who hurt. Also, Lord, help them to forgive themselves as well as their enemies. Thank you God that you are faithful. By your spirit, would you help us to faithful like you are. In Jesus name, AMEN.