Commitment

When we talk about relationships and "getting the job done," we usually refer to commitment. When we commit ourselves to getting a job done, what do we mean? Do we simply mean "we promise to get it done" or is it worth something more? What commitment means to me, is it's a promise, but more then that. It's a promise to give your whole self. Below are just three stories I dug up, talking about what commitment is.

Story 1 - Continental Breakfast (Involvement vs. Commitment)

For a continental breakfast, traditionally, there are eggs and bacon. The eggs come from chickens and the bacon are the pigs. We say that the chicken is "involved" in the continental breakfast, while the pig is committed to the breakfast.

Commitment is giving our whole lives, heart and mind, to the mission.

Story 2 - Burn Your Boats (Perseverance)

It's 1519, Spaniard Hernando Cortes sets sail for the Americas with 600 Spanish soldiers. He landed on the east coast of Mexico - the home of the Aztecs. His men heard stories of the ferocious nature of the Aztecs and asked to go home. Instead, he ordered his ship be burned. And with no way to retreat, the only thing they had the choice of doing was conquer, and so they did. This act gave Hernando Cortes the title of the "Greatest Conquistador in the Americas."

When you commit, you don't play safe. You don't think "I'll only stay here for as long as it's safe but I'll leave when its not." You jump in and fight for the mission until it's achieved, fun or not. It's about getting out of your comfort zone.

Story 3 - Civil War (Encouragement)

During the American Civil War, the Union army was pinned in a town by Confederate artillery positioned on an overlooking hill. The officers of this Union army decided to send a unit to make a diversionary charge up the hill while the rest of the army would escape. The unit was bound to be completely destroyed – it was a suicide mission. In the middle of the diversionary attack, one man in the unit decided, “If I’m going to die, I might as well make this a real attack.” He charged up the hill for real. The other men in his unit saw him and were encouraged by his act, so they charged up the hill, too. The Confederate forces were weaker than they thought, and upon seeing the charge, thought it was a full scale attack. The Confederate forces retreated, and the diversionary unit took the hill.

Your commitment will bring out the commitment of others.

On the whole, commitment is about being fully willing and able to do God's will - it's about serving with all you are, fearlessly, never turning back. And in those tight spots, it's about committing anyways, because if you commit, others will too, and in the end, it will only bring about good things.

Amen.