John Boyle O'Reilly reminds us: "Be true to your work, your word, and your friend." This is pretty sound advice, isn't it? The Apostle Paul reminded those who serve in the household of others to do all their work heartily as unto the Lord (Colossians 3:23). Proverbs 13:4 reminds us that the 'soul of the sluggard craves and gets nothing, while the soul of the diligent is richly supplied.' I don't know about you, but 'richly supplied' certainly appeals to me. How are we true to our work? If we are putting forth our very best by bringing our very best self into that work each and every day, we are likely fulfilling that one.
Being true to our word is a pretty tall order, is it not? We can say a whole lot of things without really thinking them through, only to regret having made a vow or promise to do something at a later time. Jesus was speaking with the disciples one day and left them with these instructions: “Again, the law of Moses says, ‘You shall not break your vows to God but must fulfill them all.’ But I say: Don’t make any vows! Say just a simple ‘Yes, I will’ or ‘No, I won’t.’ Your word is enough. To strengthen your promise with a vow shows that something is wrong." (Matthew 5:33-34, 37) Give your word, then keep it. Be careful about promising this or that, because when it comes to 'collecting' on those promises, we could come up a wee bit short.
Being true to our word is a pretty tall order, is it not? We can say a whole lot of things without really thinking them through, only to regret having made a vow or promise to do something at a later time. Jesus was speaking with the disciples one day and left them with these instructions: “Again, the law of Moses says, ‘You shall not break your vows to God but must fulfill them all.’ But I say: Don’t make any vows! Say just a simple ‘Yes, I will’ or ‘No, I won’t.’ Your word is enough. To strengthen your promise with a vow shows that something is wrong." (Matthew 5:33-34, 37) Give your word, then keep it. Be careful about promising this or that, because when it comes to 'collecting' on those promises, we could come up a wee bit short.
Be true to your friends seems like it would be an easy one, doesn't it? Most would agree that a true friend can be trusted, oftentimes gives great counsel when we cannot see things quite clearly and has our best welfare in mind. There is also this ability to forgive one another that we don't always mention. To sum up these three words of advice, let's look at one final scripture: "Don’t just pretend that you love others: really love them. Hate what is wrong. Stand on the side of the good. Love each other with brotherly affection and take delight in honoring each other. Never be lazy in your work, but serve the Lord enthusiastically." (Romans 12:9-11). Loyalty is defined in not pretending within a relationship. Whenever we 'pretend' to be something that we are not, we are disloyal to both ourselves and the other person.
Loyal or true - the words can be used interchangeably. God's ask of us today - be loyal. First to him, then to others - in our work, our word, and our relationships. When we get the first one right, the rest are sure to follow. Just sayin!
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