by Tom Wacaster
Lafayette,
the Frenchman, is remembered in the history books as a bold, courageous
individual. During the French Revolution he was dismissed from the army.
He tried to escape to America, but was captured and imprisoned in Germany.
It is reported that he was offered freedom on the condition that he join the
conspiracy against France. Even though he was threatened with long
confinement in prison should he refuse to cooperate, Lafayette replied:
"Never! I am still Lafayette." History is replete
with examples of courage, heroism, and determination on the part of men
and women who were willing to give their lives for a cause. The framers
of our declaration of independence were men of such character and determination.
They knew that if they won the battle for freedom that the best they could
expect would be years of hardship in a struggling nation. If they lost,
the best they could look forward to was the end of a hangman's rope. But
because of commitment and sheer determination for a cause they considered worth
more than life itself, they engaged the battle, and won for our nation its
desired freedom. Such commitment is lacking in our society.
Rare is the man or woman who can be depended upon to follow through with their
promise. For example, a baseball player might make a
"commitment" to honor a contract for some specified salary, only to
"renegotiate" that contract after one year of service.
Marriage ceremonies, in many instances, have removed the phrase "for
better or for worse, till death do us part" because of a lack of
commitment on the part of either party. Financial indebtedness finds an
easy out through chapter eleven bankruptcies, and companies usher out the 20 or
30 year employee with an early retirement. The problem lies in a
lack of commitment.
Heaven's
call for commitment on the part of the child of God is best stated by our Lord
in Matthew 5:33-37. Yes, there were some who would swear with an oath
that they would do thus and so. Some swore by heaven, but in their mind
the oath was not binding. Others would swear by the throne of God, but
that too was like playing games with one's fellow man. It was sort of
like the little game that we played when we were children where we would cross
our fingers behind our back while making a promise - we were so immature that
we thought that crossing the fingers relieved us of any obligation to keep the
promise. These were the games that dishonest men and women played with
God. But the Son of God tells us, "Let your speech be,
Yea, yea; Nay, nay: and whatsoever is more than these is of the evil one"
(Matthew 5:37). It seems to me that there are entirely too many
Christians who play this silly game of making promises with little or no
intention of following through on our commitment. "Yes God, I
give my life to you! I surrender to You and Your cause!" Out
front we make promises, and put on a great show with our oaths of dedication
and determination. But all the while, we have our spiritual fingers
crossed, knowing full well that if something should "come up" that
interfers with my service to God, then the promise is not really that binding.
The problem lies in a lack of commitment.
When our
Lord returns to gather us into the eternal abode that is reserved for those who
have followed through on their commitment, there will be a great host on that
Day who will be somewhat surprised that the reward will not be theirs to enjoy
(Matthew 7:13-14, 20-21). The thorns will have choked out their faith,
and the lack of determination to follow through with their once-made promise to
serve the Master with all diligence will echo throughout eternity with the
tragic words, "Depart from me, ye workers of iniquity; I never knew you."
The problem lies in a lack of commitment.