Skip to main content

"He wanted all the benefits without any of the commitment."

A thought by Mark Batterson, (2013-09-24) from his book, All In: You Are One Decision Away From a Totally Different Life (Kindle Location 780). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.

That is so true in so many areas of our lives. 

We want all the benefits that our job gives us but we don’t make an all-out effort to do what needs to be done.  I mean if they ever asked us to work on Saturday we would tell them, “That isn’t fair.”   We expect them to sacrifice but not me.

What about being in a relationship?  So many want the benefits without the commitment.  If you really loved me you would give me this but no way do I want to get married. 

What about church?  I love the pastor and his sermons.  The music is great.  I love our building but, no way do I want to become a member or tithe, or serve.  I want the benefits but not the commitment.

What about friendships?  We want them to jump whenever we need them but what if they are having struggles and they need us.   

There are so many areas that this can be said but the main one is in my relationship with Christ.  I want the benefits that He gives me, forgives my sin, gives me grace, protection, health but no way do I want to go all in.  That is too much.  It seems for us it is all one sided but the reality is that is what He demands and one day we will suffer the consequences of benefits with no commitment.

Why not start today? 

Comments

  1. Thank you for this thought. It is very convicting, especially is regards to my job. I pray to the Lord for more security regarding finances, and then when it comes to my job I just want to be lazy and not work hard. But I need to commit to working hard at whatever it may be, because Christ calls us to do so.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

"Lie 2: The more you worry about it, the better your odds of avoiding it."

A thought by Louie Giglio in his book,   Winning the War on Worry    (p. 5). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon to buy the book.) Here is another lie that the Enemy uses with us. And Louie says, "This is a tricky lie. Yes, we often have cause for concern and preparation. But the Enemy wants you to believe that if you worry or fret over a certain outcome long enough, you can keep something bad from happening." But this is so important to realize. He says, "The reality is worrying has never once prevented something negative from happening. Planning might. Prayer has. But worry never will." He continues, "The Enemy tells you that by worrying about a situation (or every situation) you can make your tomorrow better. Really, worry just robs you of today. Jesus implored us: 'I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body mor...

“There’s a big difference between building a castle and building a kingdom.”

A thought by Bob Goff from his book, Everybody, Always: Becoming Love in a World Full of Setbacks and Difficult People ( p. 41). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.)   Have you ever built a sand castle or maybe a Lego castle?   Have you? Bob says, “We actually build castles all the time, out of our jobs and our families and the things we’ve purchased. Sometimes we even make them out of each other. Some of these castles are impressive too. Lots of people come to admire what we’ve built over the course of our lives and tell us what great castles we have. But Jesus told His friends we weren’t supposed to spend our lives building castles. He said He wanted us to build a kingdom, and there’s a big difference between building a castle and building a kingdom.” Bob goes on, “You see, castles have moats to keep creepy people out, but kingdoms have bridges to let everyone in. Castles have dungeons for people who ha...

"To put it simply, worry isn’t just a bad habit."

A thought by Louie Giglio in his book,   Winning the War on Worry    (p. 1). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon to buy the book.) Ok, that is interesting. Louie says, "Worry is an Enemy tactic—a strategy built on lies that are designed to rob you of peace and tear your mind to pieces. "That’s why it’s crucial that you are able to spot the lies worry tells." He goes on, "Not long ago while on safari in South Africa, Shelley and I were really wanting to see a leopard in the wild. Early and late on our game drives our eyes were set on every tree limb, bush, grassy hill, and river path in hopes of finding one of several leopards that were known to frequent this particular area. But here’s the thing: leopards aren’t bright orange with tall, sparkly antennae on their backs. They are designed to blend into the surroundings, like the bark of a baobab tree where they might be lounging on one of its mighty branches. "In the same way, ...