[301 words]
In the book, Driven from Within, Michael Jordan (Hall-of-Fame basketball player) recounts an event from his life that exemplifies just how committed he was to the things that were important to him.
Jordan asked to borrow a jacket from a friend before they went out to have dinner together. He was told where he could locate a closet and thus find a jacket. Jordan disappeared. When he returned, he was carrying an armful of jackets, shirts, shoes, etc. Jordan dumped the pile on the floor and disappeared again. He returned with a butcher knife and proceeded to cut the gear on the floor into thousands of pieces. He then gathered up the mess and carried it out to a dumpster for disposal.
The clothing that was destroyed was all made by Puma. As most of us know (as so many of us men have owned at least one pair of Air Jordan high-tops), Michael Jordan endorses the Nike brand. He told his friend, “Don’t ever let me see you again in anything other than Nike. You can’t ride the fence.”
While we may question his methods, we cannot question his commitment. He demonstrated total commitment to the company he endorsed.
God longs for radical commitment from you and me. Keeping with the above illustration, Kyle Idleman has said: “He doesn’t want us to just make room in our closet for Him; He wants the closet to Himself.”
We must smash and destroy our idols (1 Kings 15:12-13; 2 Kings 11:18; 18:4; 23:19-20). We must get rid or those things that ate weighing us down and distracting us from our goal (Heb. 12:1-2).
May we be fully committed to God, His Kingdom, and His cause (Matt. 6:33; 16:24-26)!
Bart Warren
S. Green St. Church of Christ
Glasgow, KY