Solomon answered, “You have shown great mercy to your servant David, my father, because he walked before You in faithfulness, righteousness, and uprightness of heart toward You. (1 Kings 3:6a, MEV)
And if you walk in obedience to me and keep my decrees and commands as David your father did, I will give you a long life. (1 Kings 3:14, NIV)
“Have you watched Knapp swing the club,” Lewis asked as we sat down with tea in his living room. I mentioned I watched a few swings on a recent telecast.
“His tempo is what I want to emulate,” Lewis continued as he played the DVR recording of Jack Knapp’s round.
There’s a term for when one person takes on the habits (good and bad) or characteristics of another person—the chameleon effect or mirroring. Often, this goes unnoticed by the people involved. For example, if you hang around a person who says, “Y’all,” long enough, it will become part of your verbiage.
Have you noticed any characteristics of Jesus seeping into you? Does his kindness, generosity, ability to tell a story and teach, or love and compassion resonate?
How about his faithfulness (2 Timothy 2:13), righteousness (1 John 2:29), obedience (Hebrews 5:8), and servant heart (Mark 10:45)? We will never attain these four characteristics to perfection like Jesus, but like King David, who experienced failures throughout his life, we can still be servants who grow in faithfulness, righteousness, and obedience.
Faithfulness in Hebrew means truth. The Greek translates to trustworthy and believable. Our faithfulness keeps us on the path of allowing God’s Truth, the barometer for measuring our words and actions. Jesus is trustworthy and faithful to his promises even when we feel faithless.
The Hebrew connotation for righteousness is blameless in conduct and integrity, along with justice, right actions, and right attitudes. God’s moral perfection is to be our ideal according to the Greek. We only arrive at being blameless because Jesus took our brokenness upon himself. Every day, we can ask the Holy Spirit to help us be more like Jesus and be thankful for God’s forgiveness when we miss the mark.
There is no Hebrew word for Obedience. Instead, a Jewish person does Shema: to hear, listen, give attention to, and submit. The Greek meaning refers to the faith that obeys God’s will. Obedience begins when we hear and pay attention to the Word of God and then act on it.
Servant. The most basic concept in the Hebrew language is that of a slave. Slaves in Biblical times had protection under the law and rights. The Greek language reveals that to serve means to wait upon, with emphasis on the work to be done, not on the difference in the relationship between two people. Jesus served all people regardless of rank, and he asks the same of us.
Is Jesus having the chameleon effect on you?
Prayer: Lord, in a world where so many things can influence me, help me to be changed by you.