Friday, March 08, 2013

Commitment versus Involvement


It’s an old story: The chicken and the pig were talking in the back lot one day.  Here is the purported conversation.  The chicken said, “We have a great life here.”  The pig responded, “yes, it’s nice.”  The Chicken, “Our farmer takes great care of us.  He feeds us & gives us a great place to live.”  The Pig, “Yes, it is all really good.”  The Chicken “I would like to do something good for him.”  The Pig, “That sounds okay.  Sure, why not?”  The Chicken, “Let’s give him a ham and egg breakfast in the morning.”  The Pig offered silence.  The Chicken, “What’s wrong with breakfast?”  The Pig said, “For you, that’s involvement.  For me, that’s commitment!”
We are a very involved people.  Dancing, cheerleading, sports, church, and clubs are but a few of the things in which we are involved.  Most of the time we stay involved as long as we are ‘getting’ what we want.  This is because, at our very core, we are a ‘getting’ people.  We get all we can, can all we get, and sit on the can.  Generally we believe, it’s ‘every person for self.’  When we no longer get what we want, we tend to quit, ‘get out’, and begin looking for the next place where we can ‘get’ what we want.
Sadly, it seems we have transferred our ‘getting’ into the arena of our faith.  We tend to be involved instead of committed.  The problem is this: Jesus never issued a call for involvement; His call is to be committed. 
In Luke 9:23 Jesus said, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself, take us his cross daily, and follow me.”  Think about the three dimensions of his call.
Commitment involves forsaking one’s self.  This means ‘saying no to self’.  We are all familiar with ‘saying no’ to yourself.  Think about the last time you went on a diet.  You told yourself no about donuts, ice cream, cake, and more. 
Commitment means, “Taking up your own cross daily.”  In a simplistic way, it means become a ‘giver’ instead of a ‘getter.’  The Bible tells us to think more about others than ourselves.  This involves sacrifice which is not a popular word these days.
Commitment means, “Following Jesus.”  One of the overlooked truths about following Jesus is that His path will always lead to being committed to a church.  Jesus died for the church.
When it comes to ‘your’ church, “Are you committed or simply involved?”


Checkout Pastor Jerry’s web site @ www.jerrywatts.net for his books entitled
“Words Of Warning”
"And they were called Christians"
Bro. Jerry Watts
Bro. Jerry Watts

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