1 Corinthians 15:31-34
“I die every day—I mean that, brothers—just as surely as I glory over you in Christ Jesus our Lord. If I fought wild beasts in Ephesus for merely human reasons, what have I gained? If the dead are not raised, ‘Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.’ Do not be misled: ‘Bad company corrupts good character.’ Come back to your senses as you ought, and stop sinning; for there are some who are ignorant of God–I say this to your shame.”
There is a very old story about a pig and a chicken who wanted to do something special for their friends. After a prolonged discussion, they decided to have a breakfast. The pig suggested that the chicken provide the eggs for the breakfast. The chicken—you’ve heard this before I am sure—the chicken said that the pig should provide the bacon. The pig was outraged at the suggestion. He gave these notable words: “With you it is just an offering, with me it is total commitment!”
We live in a world where people are more interested in involvement than they are in commitment. It appears that Paul was writing to the people in Corinth who demonstrated much the same traits. He even intimates that they had deviated from Scripture so far that some of them no longer believed in the life hereafter. He is almost verbally shaking them from their lethargy and calling them back to the place of total commitment.
We can be involved in religious things and never have a personal experience with Jesus Christ. It scares the living daylights out of me when I talk with people about the Lord who feel they are ready for heaven, because they were baptized as a baby or that they live a good life. That is not what Scripture says. You will recall the visit of Nicodemus to Jesus one night. In John chapter three, we read that Jesus impressed upon Nicodemus that you must be born again. Not simply be involved in some good activities, but a new creature in place of the old. That is still the requirement today!
I feel that because of the compromise and lack of commitment which we have witnessed over the past fifty years, we are now reaping the horrible crop of destruction. Timothy McVeigh kills 162 innocent people in Oklahoma City, and when asked about the infants and children who also died, he passed it off as just collateral damage. How sick we have become because of our involvement without commitment.
Some time ago I was sent an e-mail that attributed the following words to a high school girl who attended Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado. I am not sure if she wrote it or not, but the words are so true and profound regardless of who wrote them:
“The paradox of our time in history is that we have taller buildings, but shorter tempers; wider freeways, but narrower viewpoints; we spend more, but have less; we buy more, but enjoy it less. We have bigger houses and smaller families; more conveniences, but less time; we have more degrees, but less sense; more knowledge, but less judgment; more experts, but less solutions; more medicine, but less wellness. We have multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values.
We talk too much, love too seldom and hate too often. We’ve learned how to make a living, but not a life; we’ve added years to life, not life to years. We’ve been all the way to the moon and back, but have trouble crossing the street to meet the new neighbor. We’ve conquered outer space, but not inner space; we’ve cleaned up the air, but polluted the soul; we’ve split the atom, but not our prejudice. We have higher incomes, but lower morals; we’ve become long on quantity, but short on quality.
These are the times of tall men, and short character; steep profits, and shallow relationships. These are the times of world peace, but domestic warfare, more leisure, less fun; more kinds of food, but less nutrition. These are days of two incomes, but more divorce; of fancier houses, but broken homes. It is when there is much in the show window and nothing in the stockroom.”
Isn’t that profound? We live in a time when technology can bring volumes of information that we choose to use or totally ignore. Too many of us are involved without being committed. There is a cost to be paid for total commitment, but the reward is worth it all!
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
— Pastor Cecil