I was recently flying home from a speaking engagement. On the last flight I sat next to a cowboy from North Texas, who had invented a special bit for training cutting horses. We got into an Eternal conversation and I wrote the Plan on the back of an old calendar—complete with verses, arrows, stars, and stick figures. When I got all done, I asked him if he understood the Message. Yes, he did.
I asked him if he would respond to the Offer. However, he didn’t want to do that because he believed he was a good guy. Truthfully, I used to think of myself that way. Today I have a starkly different view of myself.
Decades ago, I was loading freight at night here in Texas while I went to school in the daytime. One night my coworker walked up to the dock foreman and said to him, “Where is Mark O’Neil?” The foreman said, “I don’t know where Mark is, but wherever he is, he is working.” Many men on our freight dock would take a self-designated break on company time by sneaking back into the break room. But, wherever Mark O’Neil was, he was working. He was a faithful man.
I have always been struck by the need in our lives and work for “faithfulness.” It is required of a steward that one be found faithful—not handsome or famous, but faithful. Therefore, people expect me to do what I’m told. I am expected to be where I should be and to be engaged in what I should be engaged in. I am expected to do what I said I would do. It is vital for me to be diligent about my duties and my opportunities. Please remain courageous and faithful.
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