Scripture Reference: – Proverbs 20:6
“Most men will proclaim every one his own goodness:
but a faithful man who can find”?
Proverbs 20:6 presents a truth of contrast. Whereas the great majority of men will boldly proclaim their own goodness, a truly faithful man is a quite rare and precious find. As Solomon shared this wise saying with his son; no doubt he had high hopes that he would turn out to be a faithful man. I believe this proverb is one that every parent hopes is proven true in the lives of his children. What greater blessing can there be than to see your children follow in their godly upbringing all through their adult life.
As I’ve said so many times, those of us who are aging and in the last quadrant of our lives hope and pray that as our race draws to an end, that our lives will be marked by faithfulness.
A Quick Look At The Text
An earlier proverb noted that “mere talk” does not benefit anyone (Proverbs 14:23). Here, Solomon makes a similar statement, as he harmonizes with the English expression “talk is cheap.” Saying you will do something is easy, and many people brag about the wonderful things they do. That includes declaring their loyalty and friendship to others. But when times become hard, and friendship requires sacrifice, many friends suddenly disappear (Proverbs 17:17’ 18:24). The question here speaks to the rarity of a person whose loyalty lives up to their “big talk.”
Among Solomon’s vivid examples of this difference is Peter. He bragged that he was willing to fight and die for Jesus (John 132:36-38). To his credit, he tried to fight (John 18:10) before running away (Matthew 26:56), but then lied out of fear when his loyalty was tested (Matthew 26:69-75).
Rarely does anyone find someone who fully keeps their word, showing loyalty to God and others. Fortunately, believers can depend upon Jesus to keep His word and love them unconditionally. He cannot lie (Titus 1:2), because He is the truth (John 14:5).
Furthermore, He will always love us. John 13:1 tells us; “Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart out of this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.” Romans 8:38-39 assures us that nothing can separate believers from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. He is our loyal friend who will never leave us or forsake us (Hebrews 13:5).
What Really Counts
Solomon is demonstrating in this stark contrast that it is not what a man perceives of his character that truly matters, for such is often filled with the self-deception of pride. In addition, it is not what a man proclaims concerning his character that truly matters; for such is often filled with the falsehood of presumption. Rather, it is what a man PRODUCES in his daily conduct that really matters, for faithfulness in his God-given responsibilities is that which defines a truly “good” man.
Yet truly good and faithful men are hard to find, because so few of us men truly pursue faithfulness in our daily walk. This then is the need for us men – to learn godly faithfulness in our God-given responsibilities and daily walk.
Anyone can talk. Boasting is worthless. Your history is irrelevant. True character is known by present actions and results, not by self-praise, past events, explanations, or excuses (Proverbs 20:11). Yet fools talk more than wise men (Proverbs 14:33; 29:11), and sluggards talk more than hard workers (Proverbs 26:16). Most men love themselves and will quickly tell how gifted and faithful they are, but real performers as measured by the Bible are very rare.
Talk is cheap. What you think about yourself is deceiving and destructive (Proverbs 12:15; 14:12; 16:2, 25; 21:2; Jeremiah 17:9). But what you say about yourself is worse (Proverbs 14:3; 25:14; 27:1; Ecclesiastes 10:11-14; James 3:5). Neither God nor men care about your opinion, and especially when it is about yourself. If you must tell others you are good at something, then there must be a lack of evidence to prove it, or why would you say it? Testimonials are stupid enough for promoting new products, but they are ridiculous about yourself!
Men have long loved the damning sins of arrogance, boasting, conceit, pride, self-love, and self-esteem. But today these destructive evils are glorified in popular athletes and arrogant entertainers and promoted as cures for most psychological or relational problems. Self-esteem theories are adored, though they merely whitewash sins of conceit and selfishness. Humanistic psychologists have always been deluded, but when so-called Christian leaders promote this narcissistic view of life, truth is in peril (11 Timothy 3:1-5).
In a day of advertising, mass marketing, and public relations, there is a perverse emphasis on appearance over performance, on perception over reality, on sound bites over substance, on feelings over facts. Due to constant communication via telephone, the Internet, television, radio, email, and texting, there is a perverse emphasis on words over actions. This distortion has created a situation where boasting is accepted over results.
Yet today there are few faithful men that will do what they should (Psalm 12:1; 11 Timothy 3:13). Athletes brag about abilities and accomplishments, and politicians claim to be near divine in what they promise to do. Great men do not need to promote themselves, because others will do it for them. Great men never stoop to self-praise; their praise comes from others (Proverbs 27:2). If other men do not praise you for greatness, there is an obvious reason.
Where is the humility of Solomon? As king of Israel and the well-favored son of David, he admitted he was a little child in understanding (1 Kings 3:5-9). God loved this confession, and so do wise men reading it. Where is the humility of Paul? Though the greatest of the apostles, he admitted he was less than the least of all saints (Rphesians 3:8). Where is the humility of Agur? As the author of Proverbs chapter 30, he admitted his ignorance (Proverbs 30:1-4). These three great men did not praise themselves; we praise them.
Do not talk about your job performance. Let a promotion tell it. Do not brag about your great marriage. Let your spouse spread it. Do not talk about your personal holiness. Let your fruits and persecution prove it. Do not talk about your charity and kindness to others. Let your number of devoted friends be the measure. Do not tell how much you can be trusted. Let your credit score tell the truth. Do not tell how much you fear and love God. Let your changed life and the testimony of others prove it (1 Thessalonians 1:6-10; 1 John 2:4).
Dear friends, let’s stop talking about ourselves. Show your great character to God and men by your actions. James ridiculed Christianity based on mere faith, which is more than the carnal decisions most evangelists solicit today (James 2:14-26). He exalted works as being superior to faith as the evidence of knowing God and obtaining His approval. Jesus, Paul, and Peter taught the same conduct-based doctrine (Matthew 7:21; 11 Corinthians 5:9-11; 11 Peter 1:5-12).
Self-righteousness is one of the most damning sins of all. Once infected, how will you be healed? You do not know you are diseased. Whose rebuke will you accept? You have assured yourself that your standing before God is excellent (Luke 18:9-14). Listen to Jesus Christ. He said to the most conservative and respected religious leaders of His day, “Ye are they which justify yourselves before men; but God knoweth your hearts: for that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God” (Luke 16:15).
You will soon give an account of your life to God, and then the truth will be known. Your words of self-praise and self-justification will be just more marks against you. Prepare to meet thy God. Jesus Christ, the Blessed and Only Potentate, will judge you for your words and actions (Matthew 12:34-37). He gave you warning that it would be better to have bad words and good performance than good words and bad performance (Matthew 21:28-33).
Many ministers promote themselves more than they promote Jesus Christ. They call their ministries after their own names, and they cultivate sycophants to keep their respective personality cults thriving. Read the dust jackets of the books they write! But the Lord Jesus Christ will humble them in an instant of time, just before they are cast into hell. He will say to these self-praising success stories, “I never knew you,” (Matthew 7:21-23).
Dear friends, are you well known for faithful actions and results that match God’s word? Or do you have to help people out by giving them verbal hints or explanations as to how faithful you are? Forget the talk! Measure yourself only by action, performance, consistency, and results; focus on the actions God’s word makes important, and do them only for His glory. May the Lord bless you to be one of the rare faithful ones in this generation.
In closing, I’d like to list some of the characteristics of a faithful man as stated in different proverbs. How do YOU measure up?
The "faithful man"...
1. ...is not a lazy, slothful man. (Proverbs 19:24; 20:4,13)
2. ...does not dishonor his parents. (Proverbs 19:26; 20:20)
3. ...rejects ungodly counsel, but heeds godly counsel. (Proverbs 19:27; 20:18)
4. ...is not an ungodly witness. (Proverbs 19:28; 20:19)
5. ...is not a spiritual fool scorner. (Proverbs 19:29)
6. ...is not a slave to alcohol. (Proverbs 20:1)
7. ...does not rebel against government authority. (Proverbs 20:2)
8. ...does not meddle in strife. (Proverbs 20:3)
9. ...is not deceitful in business. (Proverbs 20:10; 14, 17, 21, 23)
10. ...does not have a vengeful spirit. (Proverbs 20:22)
So then, we men must ask ourselves if we truly desire to be defined by what the Lord states is a good and faithful servant. Even so, we must examine ourselves whether we possess that proud spirit wherein we presumptuously perceive and proclaim our “own goodness,” or whether we are truly walking in godly integrity and character before the Lord our God, faithfully fulfilling the responsibilities that He has given to us.
Final Thought
Even a cursory reading of Scripture reveals that God is looking for good men. Consider the following passages: Ezekiel 22:30 “I looked for someone who might rebuild the wall of righteousness that guards the land. I searched for someone to stand in the gap in the wall so I wouldn’t have to destroy the land, but I found no one.”
1 Timothy 3:1 (NASB) says, “It is a trustworthy statement: if any man aspires to the office of overseer, it is a fine work he desires to do.” And 2 Timothy 2:2 (NASB) says, “The things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust these to FAITHFUL MEN who will be able to teach others also.”
When Jesus came to this earth, He chose 12 men: Peter, James, John, Matthew. . . we know their names well. But how well do you know them? We should learn about them because they changed the world. And yet they did not seem like people capable of changing world history. They didn’t have modern technology to help them. No iPhones, iPads, internet, texting, or elaborate sound systems.
They didn’t even have the printed page. No,Thomas did not tweet, Peter did not have a Facebook page, and Andrew did not use Instagram. It was all done by “word of mouth,” person to person. Yet these hand-picked disciples, in a relatively short amount of time, shook the ancient world.
You know what? God is still looking for men and women to shake the world today. God is looking for men with humble hearts; men who will sacrifice everything for the cause of Christ and who will stand in the gap as servant-leaders for their families and for the church. It all started by Jesus calling a few men to follow Him. His concern was not with programs to reach the multitudes, but with men whom the multitudes would follow. Men were to be His method of winning the world to God.
My prayer is that we will be those types of men and women, – warriors for Jesus Christ.
From: Fight the good fight of faith & life journal: By Gregg Harris
Commentaires