February 14, 2005

UNFAITHFUL
by Pastor George Van Alstine

“Have we not all one Father? Has not one God created us? Why then are we faithless to one another, profaning the covenant of our ancestors?” (Malachi 2:10)

The fourth century BC prophet Malachi saw the incongruity of professing to have a sound vertical relationship—with God the Father—while having weak or twisted horizontal relationships—with those who are in our “circle of nearness.” This is the same kind of hypocrisy the Apostle John exposed in his letter to the church of his day:
“Those who say, ‘I love God,’ and hate their brothers or sisters, are liars; for those who do not love a brother or sister whom they have seen cannot love God whom they have not seen.” (1 John 4:20-21)

But I’m particularly struck by the way Malachi put this: if we have a common relationship with God based on a promise of faithfulness, why doesn’t that faithfulness carry over to our relationships with one another? In Malachi’s words we see three strands that make up the strong cord binding us to God: he is our creator, he is our Father, and he is bound to us by a covenant. These same three strands also bind our sister or brother to God, so why is the bond between us and this person so easily broken?

The word “faithless” brought to my mind the frequency with which marital promises are brushed aside, even in Christian marriages. In a society where casual sexual encounters outside of marriage are treated as “slips” and winked at, it’s all too easy for Christian husbands or wives to go with the flow and be unfaithful to their partners. The trick is not to get caught, but this compounds the unfaithfulness with lies and coverups and drives a deeper wedge between marriage partners. How can we feel secure in our relationship with God when we are bringing insecurity into our marriage relationship?

There are other kinds of unfaithfulness that are inconsistent with a life bound to God by covenant promises. When we bring children into the world, a powerful lifelong relationship is established. But some of us have been “unfaithful” to our children by failing to be good examples to them, or by being too harsh with them, or by being too lenient with them, or by failing to teach them about God. We entered into a covenant with them the moment they were born, and we may have been unfaithful because of our negligence or preoccupation.

This covenant works both ways. Children owe faithfulness to their parents as well, not only by obeying them and respecting their values and their advice, but also by caring for their welfare into their old age and showing gratitude for their years of investment as parents. Some of us have drifted away from our parents, and this is a kind of unfaithfulness.

We are also part of a spiritual family, the church God has led us to participate in. Our membership in a church is a covenant relationship with this particular family of faith. Failure to be there for brothers and sisters in their time of need is a kind of unfaithfulness, as is failure to support the ministries of the church with offerings and voluntary service.

Malachi’s question is one we should all face: “Why are we faithless to one another?” If God is our mutual Father, it must break his heart when one of his children is unfaithful to another. How can we love him and callously hurt one another?