THE FORGOTTEN WORD, PART 1

“And Jesus said, No man, having put his hand to the plow,
and looking ack, is fit for the kingdom of God”
(Luke 9:62).

Where has attribute of COMMITMENT gone? Commitment to God, marriage, family, church, country, and our fellow man. Where are the attributes of stickability, dependability, faithfulness, covenant-keeping, and trustworthiness? 

Commitment means being true to your word.

It means “not giving up” when the going gets tough.

It means “sticking it out” even when you dislike what you are doing.

It means finishing what you start.

It means “hanging in there” in the daily grind of life. It’s a bit like the one who said, “I slept and dreamed that life was beauty, I woke and found that life was duty.”

It is true that “It takes character to cope with life when duty rather than excitement is the sustaining force.” Commitment affects every area of our lives. It is the character trait which results in stability and success. Lack of it produces confusion and frustration. 

Commitment determines getting up early enough to begin the day. It influences our attitude toward how we work. Proverbs 13:4 says: “The soul of the sluggard desireth, and has nothing, but the soul of the diligent shall be made fat.”  

Commitment sees our desires fulfilled and dreams turn into realities. It is very true that a vision is one percent inspiration and 99 percent perspiration. We can have a great idea but if we are not prepared for the perspiration, we won’t make it. I remember when I began Above Rubies over 48 years ago. I couldn’t see this far into the future at that time, but I have kept plodding on, totally committed, never giving up, and here I am still printing the magazine today.

I think of the words from Edgar Guest’s poem:

Often the struggler has given up,
When he might have captured the victor’s cup,
And he learned too late when the night slipped down,
How close he was to the golden crown.

When living in Australia I remember one night hearing on the news of the enormous mount of “sickies” people take from work every week. Why do people no longer want to work? I remember as a child watching men cycling to work, whistling as they went, joyful in the privilege of being able to work. 

Work is not a curse that God put upon us after the Fall of man. When God created Adam, the very first thing he told hm to do was to “dress and keep” the garden of Eden. In the Hebrew, the word “dress” means to “work, labor, till.” Why did God do this? Because He knew that it was for man’s blessing and wellbeing. Work is divinely ordained.

Work makes us happy and satisfied. It releases the God-given creativity and gifts within us. It safeguards physical, emotional, and mental health. And it will help you have a good night’s sleep. Ecclesiastes 5.12 says: “The sleep of a laboring man is sweet.” Dr. Orlando Batista states: “Work is the best wonder drug ever devised by God.” 

God has planned that man should work to provide his needs and the needs of his family (1 Timothy 5:8 and 2 Thessalonians 3:10). But that is not all. He is also meant to work so he has extra to give to others as well (Ephesians 4:28). Mothers are also expected to work. God doesn’t intend us to be lazy housewives, but “workers at home” as it says in Titus 2.4. I am a great believer in working women, but where God intends us to work—in and for our homes. Afternoon soap operas will never be part of a successful woman’s life. 

When your children are little, it takes your whole life to truly care for them. As they get older you may be able to start a business in your home with the gifts and talents that God has given you. Your older children can also help you and it will give them experience too. The Proverbs 31 woman was industrious and also organized a business, but it was run from her

home. The home is where everything happens.

What about our commitment to family? The family is the oldest institution of time. It is the “original society from which the church and state emerges, and every other association known amongst men.” The success of the nation depends upon the stability of the family. If, as a nation, we are not committed to supporting the family, we are on skid-row to destruction. 

It is God’s plan that the family is the foundation of the country. Parents must be committed to the nurture and care of their children. Children and teens must be committed to their parents in loyalty, obedience, and caring for them when they are older. We are to be committed to one another. It’s the attribute of commitment that grows strong marriages, families, and in turn the nation.

PRAYER:

“Dear God and Father, I thank You that I can trust every word you say. All your promises are yes and amen in Christ Jesus. Your words will never fall to the ground. Everyone of Your righteous judgments endure forever. I can stake my life upon them. Please help me to only speak that which is right, and to stay true to my words just as You do. Amen.”

AFFIRMATION:

I will stick to God’s commandments. I will stick to my marriage. I will stick family.