It is not enough to be a good person.

The attentive audience at our meeting at the Rainbow Theatre.

This week in our meeting we spoke about the difference between being a good person and a faithful person. Although initially, it may seem like the two are almost synonymous, as the meeting progressed we found that not to be the case.

Many people aim to be good people, but they are not faithful. They show themselves one thing at work, at church, in public, but when they are hidden from scrutiny, they are another person. Many spend the whole day portraying a very friendly person at work, smiling and being kind, but as soon as they cross their door at home, a different person comes out - one who screams, fights and is rude. What happens to that good person they were the whole day? Fact is, he or she was good, but not faithful.

Are you a two faced person?

Claudia Brito sharing her story.

A person who is two faced isn't faithful to her principles. Although she knows the difference between good and bad, she is not faithful to those beliefs. She will be good to avoid bad consequences for herself or to gain favours, but when she has an opportunity to show who she truly is, without any fear of consequences, her principles do not hold, because she is not faithful to them. 

To give a clear example of what being faithful to your principles and beliefs means, Claudia Brito told a story of when she went to pick up her young daughters at school one day and found one of them badly scratched in the face. Like any mother, she wanted to defend her daughter and punish the culprit. She immediately went to the Principal's office, to understand what had happened. She found out that a young girl got upset when she heard her younger daughter telling her older one that she loved her. Out of jealousy, the girl scratched her older daughter.

Claudia requested to speak to the child and after a lot of resistance, the Principal allowed the two to speak. When the child walked in, Claudia knelt down before her, looked her in the eye and told her she loved her. The scared little girl broke down in tears and the two hugged. The girl was so touched, she didn't want to let go of that hug. That was the beginning of a close relationship between the two. 

Claudia's beautiful daughters, Priscila and Patricia,
when they were young.

Faithfulness requires conviction

Claudia later found out that the girl's parents had recently divorced and she was living with a very difficult grandmother. Claudia was then able to bond with this little girl and help her through a tough time in her life. 

How was she able to put aside her anger as a mother and reach out to a girl she didn't even know? It was because she was faithful to what she believed - helping people. 

Faithfulness requires loyalty, integrity, trust, sacrifice, obedience and much more. It runs deep inside of you. It requires a conviction to your principles. This conviction causes you to put your principles and beliefs in practice, no matter the cost. You do not fear any consequences or measure any sacrifice.

When you are a faithful person, you join a league of a select people and your value as a person rises, as you attract and are attracted to others who are faithful. It's not enough to be a good person, be faithful to your beliefs and principles!