Commitment and Cost to Worship

"I will not offer burnt offerings to the Lord my God that cost me nothing." (2 Sam. 24:24b)

An unknown author defined commitment by saying, "The difference between involvement and commitment is like an eggs-and-ham breakfast:  the chicken was involved - the pig was committed."  Commitment to the physical things of life is more obvious in our culture than commitment to the spiritual.  Men, in the flesh will go to serious extremes to fulfill temporal desires, but little evidence is seen in the American church for true commitment to the Lord.  Families will exhaust all strength, finances, and time for worldly pursuits, but when it comes to worship the minimum is all that is sought for.  Two observations will suffice for revealing the commitment that people will make to fulfill earthly pursuits and family objectives:

First, many thousands will commit to participate in an ironman event.  They will train to swim 2.4 miles, bike 112 miles, and run 26.2 miles in less than 17 hours.  In order to accomplish such a task they will train countless hours every week for no less than a year just to be able to finish the event.  They will commit to serious eating habits, early morning hours of exercise, and even put numerous relationships on hold to accomplish their goal of finishing the ironman event.  They will train in extreme heat and frigid temperatures.  They will spend an incredible amount of money and exhaust an unbelievable amount of time.  The motive is self-accomplishment.  The desire to finish is self-will.  The joy is in the finishing.  Oh, that man would love God as much as he loves self.

Second, in a more applicable observation, to most Americans, commitment can easily be observed in the world of sports and entertainment.  Parents will commit their lives to fulfilling the goals that their children have or that they have for their children.  Parents will spend countless dollars for shoes, clothes, electronic gadgets, equipment, membership dues, gas, monthly phone bills, and certainly they must have the satellite TV.  Parents will sit on metal bleachers in 105 degree heat to see little Johnny hit a baseball with a metal bat.  Parents will work two jobs for countless hours to make sure that their kids have everything that all the other kids have.  Parents will work all day and drive all night to make sure the children get to whatever event is on the schedule and all with the underlying motive of commitment.  Parents are committed to prove their love by devotion to the physical.  Commitment levels go to the extreme for fleshly desires, but for the worship of the living God, commitment in the American family is at an all time low.   

Dearly beloved, let us learn from David at the end of his life.  David refuses to offer something to God that cost him nothing.  What does your worship cost?  What sacrifices are you making to give unto the Lord?  Is worship and service in the church something that is done only when it fits the ease of your schedule or do you sacrifice everything else for the sake of having Christ as the preeminent One?  When you show up for church this Sunday at your local church will you bring to Him a heart that is fully committed to Him?  Will you come to church with a heart that has sacrificed self, sports, entertainment, and they world?  What will it cost for you to worship?  The amount one is willing to pay is seen in the value of what is purchasing?  Oh, that God would have infinite value to your heart and you would give all in order to have Him in worship for the rest of your lives.