Are you Faithful or a Fizzler?

Fresh Manna© by Pastor Tim Burt
http://www.freshmanna.org

Prov 20:6 “Most men will proclaim each his own goodness, But who can find a faithful man?”

Fizzle Out! Have you ever heard that expression? What might you picture if you heard that expression? One of the definitions for fizzle is “A failure or aborted effort.” When I think of this term, I think of people that claimed to be excited about something or make great commitment to something only to later “fizzle out.” I’ve seen many a person claim their faithfulness and commitment to many things only to soon “fizzle out.” I’ve seen people fizzle out of their marriages, fizzle out of the good intentions of their parenting efforts, fizzle out of their plans to trim down or get in shape, fizzle out of their commitments to things that they said, “God had told them to do.” That’s why today’s Fresh Manna verse says that many people will proclaim all the great and wonderful things they can or are going to do, but I always wonder who will still be there doing what they started out to do in the end?

I have always had great admiration for people who are faithful and stick to and finish what they start out to do. This country was founded by faithful pioneers who had a vision of great things that could be and were faithful to that vision. Pioneers and people faithful to a cause usually make innumerable unseen sacrifices of their own time and resources for the future good of others. We are blessed to be living in a land that was pioneered by the faithful with tremendous sacrifice so that we may experience the prosperity and freedom that we have today.

I find myself surrounded by faithful people. I’ll give you one example although I could give a hundred. Years ago I saw a tremendous lack of parenting skills in parents with young children. This was pre-SuperNanny and Nanny 911 – two television shows that have come to be a gift from God for parents. I felt that most parents did not realize that if they would put forth the hard but wonderful work of consistent hands-on teaching, instructing, reproving, and discipline with their children in these powerfully formative years, the rest of their growing years with their children will be a cake walk compared to those children that get minimum parenting. Parents that don’t set boundaries that they enforce with discipline, end up with children that run wild. God had put it on my heart to help many of these young parents so that they could avoid all the pitfalls and heartaches that so many parents face later on when their children turn to teenagers.

I started a class called “Parenting Young Children” that Renee and I taught for a few years. Parents loved it and the fruit of what we taught was immediate in the lives of these families. My responsibilities at our church of 10,000 people are enormous and never ending. I started our Small Group Ministry over 20 years ago and we have a great diversity of groups. It has always been important to continue to add groups to meet the needs of our church. Years ago while I was teaching ”Parenting Young Children,” a couple came along that told me they had it on their heart to help. I was grateful and glad to have their help. They were and are wonderful people. Seldom do I just turn something over to someone. I spent time working with this couple, letting them learn what we were teaching and eventually giving them the opportunity to teach what we had taught. They did a delightful job and in many ways brought new dimension of creativity and fun to the group that helped it to continue and greatly prosper. Because of these people, the vision and importance of the group continued to expand. They eventually took the helm freeing me to start something new.

People like this are the faithful. There are often working quietly and diligently behind the scenes without much glory or fanfare. These kinds of people aren’t driven by that. They are driven by inward vision and passion to a cause. They are the salt of the earth. They build things now for the good of others later. Few people understand the sacrifices they make of their personal and family time to help others. They have the same demands on their life that everyone else has and yet, they selflessly let go of some of their personal time and resources for the well being of others. People like this are the gold and precious stones of the earth. They are the salt that brings mankind its flavor. They are God’s living and breathing blessings manifest in this earth to make our lives better.

I am surrounded by people like this at our church. The “faithful ones.” People that have been faithfully serving others out of their heart and unto the Lord for 10, 15, and even 20 years. They consider it a part of their destiny and God-given purpose. What they do is a hugely significant part in God’s wonderful scheme of things.

The faithful are a huge part of what makes my life rich. They don’t know what “fizzle out” means. They live a life of faithfulness. I hope you notice the faithful that touch you and your family’s lives and let them know that you’ve noticed. As I said, they don’t live for fanfare but a simply sincere thank you fills their tank to go on and on!

In His Love,
Pastor Tim Burt
http://www.freshmanna.org