Faithful to a Fault!

"You have been faithful to a fault!" Those words hit me kinda hard.  My mind wandered for a moment and I recall thinking.. "I don't think that was meant as a compliment."  Trust me, it wasn't.  Selah.  

I am one of those people that you either like, or you don't. People who really know me, have a better chance.  On this occasion I was in a meeting with someone I thought knew me well -when they uttered those words to me.   The meeting itself was not a good one, but I didn't really expect it to get personal before it ended, since I was not the original topic. 

A PATTERN

This was not the first time I'd heard something like this.  I've heard it from loved ones who didn't understand why we paid child support every month -when the kids lived with us.  I heard it when things in my marriage got challenging.  I heard it when a woman I have tried to help for 16 years, showed up to talk again- to the dismay of many around me.  I heard it from a long time acquaintance who said I was an 'Enabler."  I didn't like that one... then a counselor told me the SAME THING!  Humph... I should have fired him!  Since this often came from people who didn't know me, it was easy to dismiss but since then I have heard it from people who do know me.

SELF EXAMINATION 

When something does not sit well with me, I no longer just dismiss it, I go to God. I need to see if I am part of the problems people around me are dealing with or if there is something I need to change.  I need to understand if I am an enabler-who is faithful to a fault and if so, I need Him to help me!  God does not always answer me quickly, sometimes He lets me think, cry, argue with myself, ask questions and when I stop thinking and be still in Him, He might answer.  This time He did.

He let me know, Yes... it is true.
I am an enabler, I am faithful to a fault- but to Him... it's not bad.

UNDERSTANDING 

Years ago I heard a man say:  "Every negative trait is a positive quality that is misused."  That means everything we do has a flip.  We can be judgmental or we can be a critical thinker.  We can be frivolous or we can be lighthearted.  We can be emotional or we can be impassioned.  Maturity helps us fix a natural trait that is not beneficial to those around us.  That is the basis of what God used to help me.

ENABLER: -a person or thing that makes something possible.

Enabling can be good, or bad, and it is not in the eyes of the beholder, it is in the eyes of God.  See,  I enable people to decide for themselves what they want to do and how, I will give counsel, but I don't DO it for them or disown them when they don't do something MY way.  I also will not be a constant reminder when they do it wrong.   I enable them to think for themselves, understanding I am not their Holy Spirit or their God.  I enable them to make mistakes without judging them or rubbing their nose in it.  I enable people to get help and go forward and live their lives without my constant interference.  As their lives begin to progress, I don't remind them that I helped them.  I let them live good, knowing that it was God who helped them.   Yes, I get it,  I am an enabler.

FAITHFUL: -loyal, staunch, steadfast... someone who is firm in their allegiance to someone or something.

I found that I really am faithful to a fault.  I will stay in places when God has not released me.  Whether it is a church, a relationship, a job, a friendship, or an event that I am totally bored at.  I will stay there, not necessarily because of the people, but because of God.  He may choose to keep me there for people, even when I don't see the benefit. 

I love my relationship with Him, I don't have to check with everyone else to do what He tells me to do.  I don't always agree with what He is doing or wants me to do, but my answer is 'Yes'.  Yes with tears in my eyes, Yes with no money in my pocket, Yes with critics watching my every move wondering why I don't just leave.  I really am FAITHFUL TO A FAULT!  I have stayed on jobs where I was threatened with termination because of others mistakes,  just to pray and see the supervisor removed and me get their place.  I am FAITHFUL TO A FAULT!  And God has been faithful to me in the midst of my fault...

I encourage you, be steadfast in your faith, learn to trust God in every situation.  Don't be moved by people's opinions as to why you don't do what they would do, you don't serve them. God is the only constant one in our life, who knows us and still works in us to do His good pleasure.   I know I am not the most obedient child in the world, but He is still working in me!  I thank the Lord for helping me to see the good in the midst of what was meant for bad.  I am and am still learning to be FAITHFUL TO A FAULT..... but only to God.... 

 Because I find NO Fault in Him! 

****** DISCLAIMER: Understand, if you are in a relationship, on a job or at a place that God has told you to go, but you are scared, worried about people or just disobedient, that is not what I am talking about.  There are times God tells you to move and disobedience is not faithfulness; it is not good to dismiss God's voice over people's.  But if God has told you to stay put, faithfulness is seen in your obedience to Him, not to your circumstances.