Committment: In it for the long haul

I am coming to find that our generation doesn't know the meaning of committment. Nobody sticks with anything anymore. When someone gets tired of something, it doesn't matter that they have made a committment, they just quit. When things get tough or uncomfortable, they just quit. Or they just do a half-hearted job at it. It's like when something takes extra effort or work, everybody bails. I've seen it time and time again. Marriages, churches, jobs, parenting. No one wants to work for anything anymore. And what is most sad about that is the things that are most rewarding, take the most work. When people quit, they are throwing away the opportunity to see an amazing outcome.
I remember when I was learning to play the piano, I played all the time. But I hated practicing scales. It was awful. I wanted to just play a song. But you have to learn the basics before you can play a song. It takes work. It takes practice, but the outcome is so worth it.
I learned about committment from some key people in my life. My parents were great teachers about committment. My mother would never let me quit anything. She always made me stick it out. She told me that my word should mean something. I also learned about committment from people that I served along side of in ministry. Ministry is hard. People don't appreciate the hard work you put in and the hours that you spend preparing. Most of the time it goes unnoticed. But when you are committed to a cause, you stick with it and seeing lives touched makes it worth it. Seeing people that continue to stick with things when it's tough makes me respect them even more.

Hebrews 10:36 (the Message) "But you need to stick it out, staying with God's plan so you'll be there for the promised completion."

I hope my word means something to people. I hope that committment is evident in my life. I want to be in it for the long haul. Even when it's hard and tough and uncomfortable. I want to be there for the promised completion.