I have been thinking about this lately, partly because it is a principle that has taken me a while to learn. Little things matter. It goes along with the verse in James 5:12, “let your yes be yes and your no, no”. In other words, if you say you are going to do something, then take responsibility and finish what you start. I know, “ circumstances change”, and “more important things take priority.” I used to say the same things. If I didn’t want to finish and obligation I justified it with one of these phrases. Who can argue with you, right? And because of my past justification, I have given people the benefit of the doubt. Then I came to realize that those excuses exposed me as a fraud.
That’s right, a fraud. If I commit myself to something then I need to count the cost first. There is no shame in turning down an opportunity, but there is shame in ignoring a commitment made. Finish what you started, and if you don’t want to continue you sit down and talk it through with the person you made the commitment with. If I make a small promise and don’t fulfill it, then why would anyone allow me more responsibility.
In my experience, I have found this true among the people of the church. Think about it, few people skip work because they stayed up too late, miss basketball practice for the same reason. In the churches I have been at the attitude is that church is extra, volunteers, or optional. I don’t show up to nursery duty, no big deal. I commit to the choir, there are plenty of people. But shouldn’t our commitment to the church be as important as our commitment to the things of the world?
Don’t get me wrong, things happen, circumstances change, I get it. But if the cost is too big, let’s be honest and faithful. Look at Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5:1-11) when they did not fulfill their obligations. I’m just saying
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