Don’t Quit that job on the First Day

I just read an article from the Wall Street Journal that said, Don’t quit your job on the first day… Now, I wonder if there is anything for us?

My daughter became engaged on Christmas Eve; significant for me because 39 years ago, Debbie and I entered into a bond of commitment. That got me to thinking about the real value of commitment.

Back in 1978, I was an inexperienced adult with big dreams and no money but I knew soon after I met Debbie that the qualities I had observed in her life and throughout her family were identical to those I valued and wanted to build a family upon; notwithstanding, what we didn’t know about life, the world around us, or each other could be conquered with love, maturity, and a commitment to stay with each other until death finally did part us.

And such has been the nature of commitment in my life and that of my parents. Once while I was a Boy Scout I found myself at a week-long rain-deluged, despairing week at camp. I wanted in the worst way to come home on the Wednesday that they visited me but to my utter disappointment they felt it best that I stay and finish out the week. Ugh. Similar struggles faced me in the military, ministry, and in several employs over the years. Do you know that it is nearly impossible to get out of the military once you have taken that Oath of Service? In all of these struggles, the almost overwhelming temptation to bolt was met with good counsel, timely wisdom, and clear indication that the best path was to stay the course.

So, what’s really needed here? What we need in a culture born to bolt is a longer, wider, and deeper understanding of who God is, why we are here and the nature of his own commitment to us. Only then will we begin to see real benefits for committing yourself to your spouse, your family, your job, and your church. I’ll name just a few:

1. Staying committed to your family, your church and your spouse builds cohesiveness in communities. Think about it, in towns all across this land, communities were strengthened in knowing that if you were in trouble, there were homes along our street that we could go to. In our town, in fact, we had homes that were united by a small sign in the window, that meant there were families inside who could help me. By the way, the Puritans were able to see the connection between church and family and the community; whether the concept got away from them, I’ll let you decide.
2. Staying committed with a spouse, family, and job, builds a stronger family dynamic for the difficult challenges that will come. Marriages and families thrive on stability and nothing says stability like a committed man and wife, who have mapped out the spiritual, social, and educational parameters for their family.
3. Staying committed builds upon the legacy of Jesus Himself, who for the joys of heaven and eternity, interrupted the face to face relationship with the Father and the Spirit, and became incarnate, lived among folks like us, and died to build something that will last forever. Think about the lives of the Disciples, who for the joys of an easier life, gave it up for the commitment to further God’s church. Each one spelled out commitment with their very lives.
4. And finally, you testify to the culture that real value exists in organizations and relationships that are built well over time and commitment.

The apostle Paul, when it finally came time to leave the church at Ephesus said among other things in Acts 20,

• … From the first day that I set forth in Asia, how I was with you the whole time, serving the Lord with all humility and with tears and with trials…
• … How I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable…
• … I do not consider my life of any account or dear to myself, so that I may finish my course…
• … For I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole purpose of God…
• … Remembering that night and day for a period of 3 years I did not cease to admonish each one with tears…

And finally, there is this. When God called you into his family, He did so for the long haul, not that you might just be saved, but that you might be glorified in God’s future eternity, and experience the benefits and commitment of being adopted as God’s Son.

Here’s to staying put, staying married, staying usable, and staying engaged.

MJC.