December 30 - Don't Be a Quisling
December 30
Don’t Be a Quisling
Bible Reading: Psalms 89:1-8
1I will sing of the mercies of the Lord forever; With my mouth will I make known Your faithfulness to all generations. 2For I have said, “Mercy shall be built up forever; Your faithfulness You shall establish in the very heavens.” 3“I have made a covenant with My chosen, I have sworn to My servant David: 4‘Your seed I will establish forever, and build up your throne to all generations.’ ”Selah 5And the heavens will praise Your wonders, O Lord; Your faithfulness also in the assembly of the saints. 6For who in the heavens can be compared to the Lord? Who among the sons of the mighty can be likened to the Lord? 7God is greatly to be feared in the assembly of the saints, and to be held in reverence by all those around Him. 8O Lord God of hosts, Who is mighty like You, O Lord? Your faithfulness also surrounds You.
DO YOU KNOW what a quisling is? (It's a real word. We didn't make it up.)
If somebody calls you a "quisling," you should be offended. It's the same as calling someone a "Judas" or "Benedict Arnold."
You see, Vidkun Quisling was a politician in Norway when Adolph Hitler became the leader of Germany. When the Nazis invaded Norway in 1940, Quisling cooperated with the Germans, and the Germans rewarded him by making him the "prime minister" of Norway in 1942. He sold out his king and his country to get what he wanted. He also imprisoned and killed people who were still loyal to the king but who had escaped to England after the German invasion. After Germany lost the war, Quisling was arrested, tried, and executed by a Norwegian court. Ever since that time, quisling has been another word for traitor.
How would you like for your name to become a way to call someone a traitor? That would be a real bummer, wouldn't it? You don't want to be known as a traitor, do you? You want people to think of you as loyal and trustworthy, right?
Of course you do. Most people do. Nobody wants to be known as a quisling, because betraying your friends, family, country, or God is wrong. But why is it wrong? Why does almost everyone despise what Quisling did? Why is it wrong to be a quisling? And why is it right to be faithful to your friends, family, country, or God?
Faithfulness is right because God is faithful. Faithfulness is right because being faithful is being like God. The psalmist sang to God, "Young and old will hear of your faithfulness. . . . Your faithfulness is as enduring as the heavens. . . . Faithfulness is your very character" (Psalm 89:1-2, 8). The reason that unfaithfulness is wrong is because that quality is not like God.
So don't be a quisling. Instead, be faithful to your friends, family, country, and God.
REFLECT: What does it mean to be faithful? Does it mean keeping promises? Does it mean not talking behind someone's back? Does it mean not doing something that would hurt the other person? Does it mean something else? Think about what it means to be faithful by completing the following sentences:
Being faithful to my friends means ____________________________.
Being faithful to my family means _____________________________.
Being faithful to my country means ___________________________.
Being faithful to my God means _____________________________.
PRAY: "God, Your faithfulness is as enduring as the heavens. Please help me to be more like You. Make me--and keep me--faithful to You, to my country, to my family, and to my friends."