Being Faithful: Selfish-less

Being faithful to a calling is never easy. Most of the time, we do not want to be governed by another schedule, plan, or set of commands. Our dream vacation consists of what we want to do, when we want to do it; and, every hour of the day is organized by you, and you alone. Even when someone confronts you with the notion that their wish for you is the best option, you don't want to believe them, even if it is the truth. An independent life with no strings attached is exactly what we want. Our culture complains when we have to pay bills, listen to a job training seminar, attend classes on the weekend, and an endless list of other things. Worse yet, we think it is OK to complain; we think we are doing ourselves and those around us some kind of favor. When we moan, we want someone to agree with us in order to ultimately make us feel better. When someone agrees with us, it makes us want to complain more. And, the cycle begins.
What selfish people we are! We gravitate towards getting our way, and when we do not, we throw the tantrums like the ones we spent most of our time teaching children not to do. Our complaining is like a virus that convinces us that our lives are far more important than anyone else's. As Christians, this selfish behavior should alarm us. We should immediately wake up from this deceitful attitude and start walking on the path we are called to engage - and do it with a positive attitude.
If the Lord has called me to follow through on a command, He most likely will not tolerate a negative attitude. However, we still gravitate towards our desires and our own goals. On the outside, we smile and nod, knowing that God will be pleased with us when we cheerfully follow his commands. On the inside, we groan, moan, whine, complain, mumble, daudle, and shake our heads. We may even cut as deep as cussing, refusing, and labelling God as a failure to bring us happiness. As a result, we crush the relationship with God we built. Like a cheating wife, we threaten God and express our desire to walk away from the marriage.
Proverbs is a beautiful book because it talks all about wisdom. Chapter 3, verse 3 says, "Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart." No matter what, be faithful in what you do. Being faithful means sticking to the cause, no matter what the condition. It means focusing on what you were called to do, and doing it with love and devotion to the Lord. It does not matter how we feel or what we want. In the end, we need to be faithful without expecting anything in return - with 100% of our effort. Furthermore, faithfulness means loyally committing to His Ways and doing "everything without grumbling" (Phillipians 2:14).
Moses is a good example of someone who had a difficult time accepting God's purpose for him.  "Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt" (Exodus 3:11), Moses quizzically asked. Even after God reassured Moses, saying, "I will be with you", Moses still had questions of doubt. In the same way, what God has called us to, He will bring us through. God is with us and will pull us through what we are called to do. As chosen ones, God will ensure that as long as we are faithful, we will not fail.
So, since God will bring us through what He called us to, let us have an attitude that spreads the Gospel; "Be exalted, O God, above the heavens; let your glory be over all the earth" (Psalm 57:11). Remove the grumbling, the complaining, and the selfishness, and instead replace it with praise and devotion. Most importantly, be faithful and "serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not people" (Ephesians 6:7).