Jul 01 1989

Is "Our Best" Our Best? Posted 23 years 332 days ago ago by Creator Staff     0 Comments

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A Perspective on Commitment

by Sheri Gittins

Sure, I'd love to join the choir. But the first Wednesday night of every month I do Jazzercise... and on the third Wednesday of the month I lead Girl Scouts. I guess I could be there half the time and that's better than nothing, and it's not like I'm a soloist or anything, so it really wouldn't matter if I wasn't there all the time."
 
Few of us would dare to inform our employer that we could only commit 50% of our time or effort to accomplish an assigned task. Those of us who would be so bold probably aren't employed. Most of us would never insult our families by offering them half of our support or a portion of our love. And yet so often when we are asked to develop and use our talents for service in the church we make no sacrifice to give abundantly.

There are obviously many valued elements in our lives. But sometimes we allow even such positive influences as family and career to control all of our time and energy. There must be a place in our schedules where we, as individuals, offer to our Lord the worship and praise He demands and deserves. Choir rehearsal is the time given to us to prepare our offering so that on Sunday morning we are able to effectively praise Him by laying before Him our gift. When we "join the choir" we are committing our talents and time to other choir members and to the director, but most significantly, to God. However, there is only one recipient of our praise on Sunday morning, and we should be embarrassed to stand in His presence, unprepared to offer Him our best.

Luke 12:48 tells us, "Every one to whom much is given, of him will much be required." God has given us a tremendous gift by allowing us to use our voices to praise Him; we are "required" to use this gift sacrificially—not merely when it is convenient..

"Lack of talent" is another too-common excuse, and poor justification for a low level of commitment. It is easy to feel that since we are neither a soloist nor section leader, our absence will go unnoticed. A football team consisting of twelve quarterbacks would be highly unsuccessful; it requires the total effort of every position to create a winning team. Not only does the choir function more effectively when all its members are actively participating, but each individual singer needs to receive the blessing that comes to those who give sacrificially.

Remember the poor widow who placed two copper coins into the offering, while the others contributed from their abundance? Jesus told His disciples, "Truly, I say to you, this woman has put in more than all those who are contributing to the treasury... for she out of her poverty has given everything she had, her whole living." (Mark 12:42-44).

In our society, where daily we hustle to reach the top, sacrificing almost everything to achieve our best, should we offer anything less than our complete commitment to our Creator and the ministry we have been given to His church?

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