Commit Thy Works

I love the phrase "I will try". It has a nice ring, doesn't it? In that one small phrase, there is the sound of effort, a willingness to give the task at hand your attention and strength. But what makes that phrase so special to me is that it also gives me an out. The definition of the word try is: an effort to accomplish something, an attempt. By adding the word "try", I am giving my words the sound of a "yes", while giving myself a way to end up saying "no" later. This phrase says I will give an effort to do something without actually promising to get it done. I get to sound committed without actually being committed. Isn't that great? Can you hear my sarcasm yet? 

I had a plan for today's post. I have started "The Resolution for Women" and it includes some resolutions to sign your name to and hang on your wall. The plan was write the resolutions down, sign them, hang them, and take the picture; then I could spend the next couple of months doing the bible study so that I can explore each section of my resolution. I had all my supplies ready, and then I got down to business and started researching for my study session and blog. I was looking up definitions for resolution, and other similar words. You ready?

Resolution: a firm decision to do or not to do something

Vow: solemnly promise to do a specific thing; dedicate to someone or something, especially a deity

Covenant: an agreement; agree, by legal contract

Promise: assure someone that one will definitely do, give, or arrange   something; under take or declare that something will happen

Did you notice something in all those definitions? I couldn't find the word "try" one time. There is no apathy, flexibility, insincerity, indecision, or (most importantly) loophole in those definitions. Instead, there is resolve, tenacity, purposefulness, and willpower. After I started reading these definitions, it occurred to me that maybe signing these resolutions before I finished the bible study and fully understood what I was committing myself to was a mistake. I decided to research further, and read more into the resolutions I was signing. I am listing a couple of the main ones below:

• I will live as a woman answerable to God and faithfully committed to His word.
• I will seek to devote the best of myself, my time, and my talents to the primary roles the Lord has entrusted to me in this phase of my life. 
• I will forgive those who have wronged me and reconcile with those I have wronged.

And it was then I noticed: there is no out, no way to do this halfway. There are more than a dozen resolutions, and the word "try" is not in there. ANYWHERE. Between the definitions I was reading, and the resolutions, I was starting to understand that what I am about to undertake should not be done lightly. Then I went to the original source; I started reading bible verses about resolutions and vows. 

Psalms 89:34 My covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips.

Matthew 5:33 Again, ye have heard that it hath been said by them of old time, Thou shalt not forswear thyself, but shalt perform unto the Lord thine oaths.

Ecclesiastes 5:4-5 When thou vowest a vow until God, defer not to pay it; for He hath no pleasure in fools: pay that which thou hast vowed. Better is it that thou shouldest not vow, than that thou shouldest vow and not pay.

So, after I was hit over the head several times, in several different ways, I have decided to hold off signing any resolution or making any vows/promises to God until I have fully completed this bible study. One of my biggest things I struggle with is pride. I have been trying to change for years, to turn my life around. Nothing I did worked, because I was doing it for the wrong reasons: for pride, vanity, selfishness. But in one short month, God has set me on the right path, and nothing about the woman I am now resembles the woman I was before. I still find myself trying to take some credit for this change, and so I make myself verbally give the praise to God. I think I was doing the same thing with this, I was laying the credit at my ability to research things fully, and the fact that I have made other vows in the last month, and I am keeping them. I forgot for a moment that the only reason I have been able to do what I have in the last month is because God has given me the direction and strength. I think I should continue to let God lead me where He wants me to go, and let Him show me the correct way to agree to and follow these resolutions. 

I think the other lesson God is trying to teach me is that I should do absolutely everything for the glory of Him. Everything I do, big or small, matters because it is a reflection of my attitude and of the promise of a full life in God. I should do nothing halfway. If I fully commit myself to the task at hand, I should never have to say "I will try". The task may be hard, and I may not be able to do it as well as someone else could have, but I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. If I apply a biblical attitude to it, and rely on God's strength instead of my own, I should be able to do anything God wants of me!