What’s the “it” factor that we’re looking for in life? Obviously, it’s more than a certain look or a certain style or a physical magnetism. What are the central character traits that we all need to pursue, regardless of temperament or personality? What will win us spiritual strength and a good reputation and many friends?
Look at these words from Proverbs 3:3-4–
3 Let love and faithfulness never leave you;
bind them around your neck,
write them on the tablet of your heart.
4 Then you will win favor and a good name
in the sight of God and man.
Love and faithfulness are the central measurements for character. Whether you’re wondering what kind of employee or mother or husband or sibling or friend you are, your own demonstation of love and faithfulness are the surest signposts for finding out how your relationships are going.
Love and faithfulness are the qualities everyone looks for in everyone else. When we are not treated with love or find that a person is less than dependable in a number of areas, we sense disappointment.
Love and faithfulness are tested every day by the simplest circumstances. Our willingness to listen to family members as they look to us for an open ear and feedback, the diligence that we apply to our work, how we respond to disappointment–these are all points at which we have the opportunity to cultivate and manifest love and faithfulness.
As you move ahead in the mundane tasks that face us all, I invite you to keep love and faithfulness as a constant guide to the words you speak and the choices you make. Bind them around your neck. Write them on the tablet of your heart. If you do, the rewards of a good name and good will from others and from God will be yours in generous portions.