Commitment (Acts 23)

The thing that struck me in today’s reading (Acts 23) is not that forty people agreed to murder Paul, but that they actually decided to fast until they were able to kill him.

It’s amazing to me how people often have a greater level of commitment to something that is unimportant or wrong, than Christians do for doing something that is critically important and right. Like:

• I heard a speaker tell about sitting next to a Satanist on an airplane, and the Satanist explained that he and all his friends fast every Thursday against all the Christian leaders in his city. But I don’t know of many Christians who willingly give up food to fast and pray about things that are important to the heart of God.
• There are speech writers and screen writers who agonize over every word to impress their audiences, but many preachers whip up their sermon in a hurry even though their purpose is to teach people about God.
• I see Mormons riding around on bikes stopping at every house to proclaim their message, but research shows that very few Christians will ever share their faith with a friend.
• There are people who give incredibly generously to causes like art museums or to protect animal rights, but most Christians won’t obey God and give Him ten percent of what they make.
• Comedians work tirelessly to memorize their routines, sometimes an hour long, while many preachers hardly even look over their notes before going up to preach their message.

So here’s kind of a weird question: Where could you be inspired by the commitment level someone has to something unimportant or wrong, to motivate you to raise your commitment level to what you know is critically important and right?