“I set treasurers over the storerooms: Shelemiah the priest, Zadok the scribe, and Pedaiah of the Levites; assisting them was Hanan son of Zaccur, the son of Mattaniah, for they were counted faithful, and their task was to distribute to their brethren.” Nehemiah 13:13

The high point of this passage is that all the men put in place regardless of their titles had one thing in common, the men were considered trustworthy(Nehemiah 13:13b). They were faithful men. Today faithfulness as a quality is very rare. All we do is pay lip service to it. It is disheartening to me at times to see how few people take seriously the responsibility to carry through faithfully what they have undertaken.

Faithfulness is a quality that God admires. Paul says of those who minister in the church: “Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful (1 Corinthians 4:2). That is the primary thing God looks for: the ability to hang in with an assignment until you are through; the willingness to fulfil responsibility year after year, not needing to be praised or thanked or publicly encouraged in order to do so; to work unto the Lord; to show up on time and to not leave until the work is done.

To be considered faithful has no relationship with age or gender, it is not a function of how long you have been in the church. A faithful believer is a man with:

• Humble Heart: someone whose ego is not on the line all the time, who must be praised and honoured and encouraged in order to get him to do anything at all; who gets disgruntled and turned off if she does not get recognised. I look for someone who understands that service is a privilege; that power is not conferred upon a person by an office but by serving people.

• Right Attitude: Someone who sees her work as a ministry of service to the Lord Himself; he sees it as a privilege to serve and undertakes the it out of gratitude in his own life and heart, and no matter how tough it gets, will not quit. He possesses a teachable spirit who wants to learn all the time, always listening and tries to consult and reason out with others.

God is looking for these kind of people in 2017, to change the age in which they live. That is what we are called to do today. We are all included in this calling, not just the pastor or visible leaders. There is no single believer that has not been equipped by the Holy Spirit with a special ability to do something. in the service of the Lord. Do you make your gifting available in His service? If you have, are you faithful? Will you answer the call in 2017?. The body of Christ requires faithful men and women who are willing to carry this through to the end.