I remember a quote from Mother Theresa that has really resonated with me: “God doesn’t ask us to be successful, He asks us to be faithful.” During this project to create a website (which is way out of my comfort zone) and publish my book, I’ve experienced again (as I find myself running in circles), the insight that being faithful doesn’t always mean being successful. They are not often one in the same. Sometimes we don’t see the results of what we do. But God does. I want to have the right attitude about this. It’s not about me. It’s about glorifying God. Being faithful even if I don’t see the results AND being OK with that. I’ve always said to my kids to do the right thing no matter what. Maybe that is the whole point. People watch our actions much more than they listen to our words. I have to BE my words. Am I? Not hardly. Maybe this is why it’s so hard to say the things I want to because I don’t live up to this standard. None of us do. But If no one dares to stands up to say or do what is right because we are unworthy then no one will. No! We are worthy not because of what we say or do but because we are children of God. We are made worthy through Jesus. We are broken, flawed people just trying to love God and our neighbor the best we can. This is our offering to God. This is my offering to God to be faithful on the journey.
Don’t get me wrong. There is nothing inherently wrong with success. I enjoy it as much as anyone and we would get discouraged if we were never successful. But it’s the world that judges us on our successes, not God. Our greatest gift to Him is our faithfulness.
Mother Theresa was famous for what she did in her lifetime. She was successful in the world’s eyes. But I believe that even if she had failed or never was noticed at all for what she did, she would have done it anyway. She was called to be faithful… not successful.
It’s been 50 years since Dr. Martin Luther King’s famous “I have a dream” speech. He was faithfully following the path God had set before him when he was assasinated. If he knew that this was going to happen, would it have changed his course? I believe at every step he took in the civil rights movement, he knew that it was a real possibility that he could die for what he was doing. He did it anyway. He was faithful even though he did not live to see the results of his work. Future generations are benefiting from his faithfulness.
We all are called to be faithful in different ways. Mother Theresa and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. were no different than you and I. They were born as ordinary people who were called by God to be faithful. Being faithful for me is telling a story in “Letters Out of Africa” that is true and real. The success or failure of all my efforts are in God’s hands. My hope is that while reading this story you may come to recognize how God is calling you to be faithful. You may never see or realize success. But don’t back away. You have no idea who or when the work you do faithfully will effect someone else-maybe generations of people. Only God knows.
