We make and fulfil commitments every day. They can be as simple as the decision to always get up early to go for a run before work or the more complicated vows that we make to our parents, partners and God.
The simple short-term ones can be easy to keep and are the ones that we tend to see pretty fast results from. But the more complex long-term commitments are often harder to maintain. Although the rewards surpass that of any other kind, we usually have to wait a while longer before we experience them all.
Pope Francis recently said that "the great majority of our sacramental marriages are null." He later approved a revision to this comment in a transcript to "a portion of our sacramental marriages are null." The Pope went on to attribute the reason for this lack of validity to the failure of the current generation to fully comprehend what it means to commit.
His initial comment sparked great concern among some Catholics about marriage. But in their entirety, his words speak to a wider issue of Christian commitment.
What does this mean for Christians? In terms of our faith, the issue is central, but it's one that so many of us continue to struggle with.
Here are three things that we can all benefit from remembering about commitment, and three questions to ask yourself if you think you might be a commitment phobe, or a person who has a fear of relationships.
It's not just for now; it's forever
We have considerable access to tools which allow us to change our minds—store refund policies, contract cooling off periods, ctrl+alt+del and, as the Pope referred to in his comment, divorce.
Each of these enables us to back out of situations after we've parted with our cash, signed on the dotted line or said I do, even when what we really meant is "I do...for now" or "I do...until something better comes along."
Developing and maintaining a strong faith is one of the best ways for us to prepare ourselves for commitment in all other areas of our lives. Our faith requires us to worry less and be courageous, while fear of commitment feeds off worry and cowardice. When we devote ourselves to someone or something, we need to do it not on the basis of what feels right but on what is truly right—and we should stick to this reasoning indefinitely.
The life of a Christian is full of periods of waiting, but the promise of spending eternity with God is well worth it.
Do you find yourself looking for ways to compromise your commitment?
We have to weather the storms as well as enjoy the sunny days
The majority of decisions we make in our day-to-day lives have a get-out clause that we're most likely to invoke when things turn sour.
Because God has given us free will, we also have the ability to break the promises we make to Him. And our desire to do so often arises when the going gets tough.
Our dedication to God has to come without conditions on our part. We aren't committed if we say, "Lord, I'll do anything if you..." or lose our faith as soon as things don't go well for us.
When we accept Jesus as our saviour, we have to also accept that God is in control. So when things don't appear to be working out, being faithful means staying with God to see how things turn out and trusting that He will deliver us.
Does your faith become weaker or stronger during testing times?
We have to devote ourselves daily
Temptation is relentless. There's always something that crosses our path and attempts to distract us as we work to honour our commitments.
Offering yourself as a living sacrifice to God is, as it sounds, a big deal. There's no halfway, part-time or going steady. We have to be all in. That means acting to validate our dedication at every opportunity. Even though at times it can be extremely difficult to constantly live in a way that represents your decision to give yourself to God, if you're truly committed what seems impossible is achievable.
