Commitment: What takes Precedence in your life?

By Paula Pinto  

Commitment, what do we know about it? As Christians one of our biggest claims is that we are “committed to the Lord,” of course, why not, it is what each of us wants to believe, and I’m sure for some, it is.  In fact we’ve become to accustom to saying it that it almost comes without thinking sometimes, but what if we were to stop for a second and really think about it?  What if we were to think of where we spend most of our free time?

Are our alarms set to wake us up earlier then the time it takes to prepare to get ready for work so that we can spend time in prayer?  I often try to refrain from being so straight forward because I think “this must also apply to me too,” and for that matter it does.  I need to read this once I’m done just as much as the person reading it right now, and so, if you were to ask yourself “where am I committed,” what would you answer?  If a guest were to be in your house for a week just observing the situation, where would they say your commitment is?  Think about it…

Would they say that you are committed to your TV, maybe you don’t like TV too much so possibly you’re committed to your computer or your telephone, others may be committed to sleep and their jobs.  What is it that takes highest priority in your life?  

What things do you nurture that ought to be neutered so that you can spend quality time with the Lord?

Did anyone ever tell you that anything you put before God becomes your god?  It’s so true.  And anything that takes God’s throne in your life is sin.  Hmmm makes you think.

How can wanting proper rest before work or networking with family and friends are sin?  The activity itself is not sin, but when we give it more regard then we do Christ, that is when it becomes sin, but we don’t want anyone to tell us that, I fully understand, and so it is something we should ask ourselves.  What things have been made a god my life?

Think of your dearest relationship.  Maybe it’s with a husband/wife, friend or family member.  What if that person just stopped bothering with you or maybe they didn’t disregard you all together but called once a week just to check-in and time spent with you was neglected so that they could do a bunch of other things?  How would that make you feel?  We would either stand from one or two standpoints or look at the situation.  Either you’d be hurt because they have neglected you or you’d be angry, which comes from hurt, and you’d possibly  think that they are going to see what life is like without you and once you’re gone, it’s going to be hard to ever get it back to the way it was.  Now what if Christ were to view us from that same place?  What if He were to say, “so and so has enough time for the family, for friends, for his/her job, for their girlfriend/boyfriend, husband/wife, and so I’m going to take step back and show them what life is without me.”  Oh, what a desperate place we’d find ourselves in, I assure you.  What if we were to really take the time to see how our lack of appreciation, devotion and time spent with him hurts him, not because He needs us, but because He loves us, how would we view our present state.

Yes, sadly, we’ve seen a great turnaround in the present church.  Many people are not attending because “service” gets in the way of other plans.  If only it started early in the day or later.  If only the prayer meetings were a little more exciting, and the music a little more upbeat. While all that may or may not be true, it has nothing to do with your attendance, your relationship, and most of all commitment to Christ.  If you’re not happy with where you are then you pray and ask God to lead you somewhere else but you do not go.  That, my friend, is the most dangerous ground to be on and overall you do not neglect your prayer, worship and reading your bible with hopes that once you get to church you can refill.  A little gas in the engine will only take the car so far….

Most of all, we must really acknowledge that it was Christ’s love that drew us, and it is that same love that sustains us.  That does not mean that we will not go through things and everything will be smooth sailing.  God never promised that, but He did promise that He would be with us.  The question is, we with Him?  If not, then let us not be so confidant that we ought to receive anything good from God, not peace, not provision, not even hope because even the best of us, would not time and again, continue to give of ourselves to people who disregard us, and Lord forgive us if we’ve created a god in our mind where we can put everything first and then stand with our hands wide open saying, “what can I get from you.”  He’s already given us what we need, the question is, are we thankful for it and how do we show our gratitude?

May the love of Christ dwell so fully in our hearts that we are reminded of what great sacrifices He made on our behalf and continually grow in a greater understanding of what He requires from us.  May we delight ourselves in His presence, needing nothing to usher us in but a thankful heart for all he’s already done for us.

  Paula Pinto is the Managing Editor and a writer for a New York  

 newspaper. She is a member of the Christian based writing community 

 Faith Writers, and writes a column called Christian Food For Thought, 

 published monthly on ChristianNewsToday.com