By Gary Selman
In today’s business world, loyalty and faithfulness appear to be on the “Endangered Species List.” Unbridled greed and desire for power have led many executives to lie to the Board of Directors, falsify financial statements, and betray both employees and investors as they pursued their own selfish desires. Once prestigious and reputable banks, accounting, and law firms have compromised their ethics and betrayed their constituencies by conspiring to “cook the books” and assist their clients in their attempts to satisfy the demands of Wall Street. Leaders wrestle with issues of talent management and struggle to identify, harness and retain star talent who see through the facade of the corporate slogan, “Employees are our greatest asset.” Managers and supervisors face basic communications and performance management issues as they try to relate to the conflicting expectations and demands of four generations walking in the door each day.
The game of business has changed. The old rules don’t apply any more. What challenges and opportunities are you facing in this new era? When employees fail or fall short of achieving their goals does your commitment to their success wane or do you continue to support them? Do you find yourself making decisions that will benefit you but hurt the organization? In the face of so many challenges, where can you find answers? Start by setting your eyes on Jesus Christ and the unchanging, incomparable, eternal truth of God’s Word. Make it the final authority. The Lord has insightful things to say about loyalty and faithfulness. Begin to meditate on some of the Scriptures below. Apply them to your daily work life and watch as it begins to change the world around you.
- For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities I will remember no more. (Hebrews 8:12)
- If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9)
- For the word of the LORD is right and true; he is faithful in all he does. (Psalm 33:4)
- No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it. (1 Corinthians 10:13)
- A faithful man will abound with blessings, But he who makes haste to be rich will not go unpunished. (Proverbs 28:20)
- The salvation of the righteous comes from the LORD; he is their stronghold in time of trouble. The LORD helps them and delivers them; he delivers them from the wicked and saves them, because they take refuge in him. (Psalm 37:39-40)
- The mouth of the righteous man utters wisdom, and his tongue speaks what is just. The law of his God is in his heart; his feet do not slip. (Psalm 37:30-31)
We encourage you to meditate on God’s Word concerning loyalty and faithfulness. God’s faithfulness to us was exhibited by the sacrificial giving of His one and only Son, Jesus Christ. Jesus exemplified loyalty and faithfulness both to God and to man, even to the point of death on the cross. Jesus should be a Christian’s only mentor. He is the one we should strive to imitate. It is His life of servant leadership that we must study and adopt. Commit today to imitate Jesus in all you do.