COMMITMENT

“Finish this daughter’s bridal week; then we will give you the younger one also, in return for another seven years of work.” (Genesis 29:27 NIV)

Have you ever read the story of a Biblical Patriarch by the name Jacob? He is a man of many scenes and his story has many facets. One of the interesting parts of his life story is when he decided to marry and his father-in-law asked him to work for seven years as his dowry. After the seven years, the father-in-law tricked him and gave him a different lady from the one he had worked for. The story goes on. The father-in-law asked Jacob to work for another seven years if he wanted the original lady they had agreed upon.

Now many people could pick different lessons like the unfaithful in-law, etc. but what strikes my eye more is the commitment of Jacob to what he wants. He had gotten a wife, but not specifically then one he wanted. He decided to work another seven years for Rachael.

Commitment is not just a pledge but a decision, a determination and a stable will. Laban (Jacob’s father-in-law), was not faithful but the unfaithfulness of Laban did not affect the faithfulness of Jacob. That is what commitment is. Commitment is not situational ethics but an immovable standard of living. Your commitment is not dependent on the honesty of others.

In the Bible, Joshua made a mistake trusting the Gibeonites, yet he still kept his promise to them because he knew how God felt about keeping your word. There being deceitful had no bearing upon whether or not Joshua kept his commitments even though doing so still had significant consequences. If your spouse messed up the commitment in one way or another, you don’t do the same. That would be breaking all the pillars and living the roof in space bound to crumble.

Commitment is not corporate but individual. Your friends and culture do not have to agree with your commitment. (Genesis 7 & Hebrews 11:7) Moses stayed committed to God even when he most likely faced tremendous peer and cultural pressures. Let’s be clear that scripture does not say he had peer pressure. We are making a pretty safe assumption based on the corrupt culture of the day and the fact that it had probably not rained since creation (Genesis 2:5-6). Moses kept to God’s instructions regardless of the influence of the surrounding culture or of his peers.

You don’t have to compromise your standards under the weight of the majority. Neither should you drop your commitments to people just because those you committed to have released you from those commitments. You can still keep your commitments when others release you from them.

(Ruth 1:16-18) Ruth was under no obligation to keep her commitment to Naomi, her husband’s mother. Yet, she made the decision to stay with Naomi and never deterred from that decision. God blessed Ruth for her devotion. He blessed her for making a decision and following it all the way through totally and completely.

Whoever observed Jacob working 14 years for a wife, concluded it was not worth it but Jacob’s commitment referred to no other authority but God. God, Himself provides the perfect picture of commitment. God has kept and/or is keeping His commitment to Israel (whole Old Testament), to Abram (Genesis 12:1-3 & Nehemiah 9:8, 23), and even to Satan (Genesis 3:15; 1 John 3:8; Romans 16:20; 1 Corinthians 15:25-26) just to name a few of the big ones. God was and is faithful to the unfaithful, rebellious, doubting & wandering.

He made His commitment to us before the world was even created. (Matthew 25:34), and His commitment to us shows we can trust Him. Likewise, when we stay committed, we build trust with God and with others. The reference of your commitment should be no man or any authority but God. If in one way or another you have violated your commitment somewhere, there is still an opportunity to reverse that commitment and fulfil it.

Onesimus was Philemon’s slave who had escaped. He became a Christian, and Paul sent him back to Philemon to keep his commitment. Sometimes, we have back-commitments we’ll have to keep when we get right with God in any area of our lives. Remember not to make a commitment too quick without thought or to make a commitment based on how you feel. Because if you do, your commitments will be routine mobile goal posts. How you feel has nothing to do with whether or not you keep a commitment.

(1 Samuel 1:11, 24-28) Hannah was infertile and had prayed that God would open her womb and allow her to have a son. She then promised that son would belong to God “all the days of his life.” If you have children, remember back to before you had your first child. Did you even come close to imagining the depth of love you would have for him/her? With that in mind, do you think Hannah’s heart was breaking when she gave her son to the Lord while he was still very young? But she kept her commitment to God anyway regardless of what her feelings wanted her to do.

Let me ask you, what is that thing are you committed to and why? How much are you willing to sacrifice to ensure you succeed? I live that to you and myself.

God bless, I invoke TRUTH, REASON and FAITH

Am Pr. ITM WHITE

The Gospel Hawker