One of the biggest compliments that I could ever receive is that I’ve inspired someone. I have received that compliment recently, and it got me to thinking… why is it that I am able or worthy of that compliment? What about the way I live my life makes me different? So I came up with this:
I believe that those who are faithful attract positive and spectacular things to their lives. Being faithful in all ways—spiritually, relationally, and towards your goals, is a recipe for living a beautiful life.
Faithful to the Spirit
Those who have experienced God know what I’m about to describe. Every time I step away from the spirit, I start to feel unfulfilled. Things are off, I get depressed, I loose sight of the meaning in my life. I feel completely “off-track” and lost of where I’m meant to be and what I’m supposed to be doing. Everything we do is either self-motivated or worship… and what good ever comes from being selfish? God blesses those who are faithful. Peter 4:10 says, “Each should use whatever spiritual gift he has received to serve others faithfully, administering God’s grace in its various forms.” Everyone has different gifts, it’s just a matter of figuring out how to use your own unique gifts to bless, inspire, or help others. If you don’t, then you’re cheating the world of gifts that were intended to be shared. Faithfulness to the spirit is painted by acting upon this calling.
Faithful in Relationships
There are several different kinds of relationships that this applies to, but I’m going to talk specifically about friendships and romantic relationships. I’ve been watching a few couples very close to me prepare for marriage and I’ve been in a 3 year relationship myself. Faithfulness is a major factor in the success of any relationship. Similarly to how I talked about being faithful to the spirit, being faithful is about how you can serve the other person. If you evaluate your actions to see what was self-motivated and what was truly an act of service or loyalty to a friend or spouse, I’ll bet you’ll see which direction leads to prosperity. Everyone has that friend who doesn’t want to hang out unless it’s convenient for them. Then you have the friend that you know you can count on to be there for you at 3am, even if you haven’t seen each other in a while. Eventually, the self-motivated friends fade away, and the faithful ones are cherished forever. The same goes in romantic relationships—both sides of the puzzle need to faithfully serve the other, not out of obligation, but out of devotion. I have yet to see a relationship work out that didn’t have this dynamic.
Faithful Toward Your Goals
Wether your goal is to become a great rock climber or excel at work, being faithful to that goal will lead you there. Never loosing sight of what is important to you is kind of like the time I learned how to ride a motorcycle. When you want to turn left, you look left. If you look any other direction while wanting to go left, the odds are you’re not going to make a very clean turn; you may even fall off the bike. Keep your eyes fixed on what’s important to you, your goals, your dreams, and faithfully take steps in that direction. Being faithful is how you get there.
Faithfulness is not always easy, but if you remain faithful in everything you do, then you’ll see the positive impacts on your life and those around you. Those who inspire me also live this way, and it doesn’t take much to see it.