Pastor’s Pen

“Trust in the LORD, and do good; dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness” (Psalm 37:3).

I love this phrase that we read of in one of David’s psalms: “befriend faithfulness.” It has such a friendly sound to it, doesn’t it? It holds the meaning in the original Hebrew of cultivating and feeding on faithfulness. It means to delight in, enjoy, and devote yourself to faithfulness.

I don’t know about you, but as I examine my heart under David’s friendly phrase, I can’t help but consider how unfriendly I have been to faithfulness at times. Choosing to be faithful to the Lord isn’t always the easiest action to take. The good fight of faith is certainly a fight, and one of the things that we must constantly be fighting is the sinful desires that wage war against our soul.

Think about it this way: would you rather befriend worldliness than faithfulness? Isn’t worldliness a more attractive and appealing friend? Doesn’t worldliness promise you pleasure and good times? Doesn’t worldliness sound like a better deal? Yes, to our tempted flesh it most certainly does. However, befriending worldliness over faithfulness never ends well (James 4:4).

And that is why we must, as David tells us, choose to “befriend faithfulness.” To befriend faithfulness is to choose to be faithful to the Lord in such a way that faithfulness becomes your constant companion. In other words, it becomes a part of who you are. For faithfulness becomes an integral part of your identity.

And isn’t this how we are to live as Christians? Don’t you want to be known as a good and faithful servant? Don’t you want to be one who was faithful to the end because you chose to befriend faithfulness again and again? I think a deeper definition of David’s phrase can be illustrated by the principle that Jesus once taught, where He said: “One who is faithful in very little is also faithful in much” (Luke 16:10).

To befriend faithfulness means to be faithful in the little things. It means to stand your ground with Christian integrity and seek to be faithful no matter who is watching. Befriending faithfulness is not letting your left hand know what your right hand is doing. Befriending faithfulness is seeking to be obedient to the commands of Christ, simply because it was Christ who commanded it.

Choosing to befriend faithfulness regarding the little everyday matters of life ultimately proves where your heart really lies… In Proverbs 17:17, the Lord defines a true friend as one who “loves at all times.” And so if we are going to be devoted to living a life of faithfulness, then that means we are to be faithful all of the time. Not just when we “feel like it.”

Not just on Sundays. Not just when things are going well and the circumstances are in our favor. But every day and with every breath, “at all times” we are to befriend faithfulness! And so will you go and befriend faithfulness this week? Will you choose to be faithful to the Lord above all else? Will you choose to be consistent and steady in your friendship with Mr. Faithfulness?

If so, then your friend will eventually help shape the character of who you are… And you will become a more faithful servant of Jesus who is “Faithful and True” (Revelation 19:11).

Dalton Mathis is the pastor of Salt Creek Baptist Church near Early.