So Moses came and told the people all the words of the Lord and all the ordinances, and all the people answered in unison and said, “All the words that the Lord has spoken we will do.” Exodus 23:3
Last week, we read the Ten Commandments that were given to our ancestors by G-d at Mount Sinai. This week we read the additional laws, rules and ordinances that were given at Mt. Sinai. We also read the verse above which captures the moment our ancestors committed themselves to G-d’s laws. Certainly there have been times when we have questioned and challenged this commitment. Yet, we have continued to honor it for thousands of years.
In today’s world, commitments are easily broken. If promises and obligations that we were once morally and/or legally responsible to fulfill become too challenging, we often find excuses to back out of these promises and obligations. Certainly, there are times when doing so is valid. Sadly, most of the time, we do so simply because we are selfish: living up to our responsibilities requires us to behave in a manner that benefits the commitments we have made as opposed to benefiting ourselves. When it comes to committing ourselves to someone or something, selfishness has no place. Commitment requires placing a relationship above individual needs and wants. Commitment requires us to ask, “what is best for us” as opposed to “what is best for me”.
Given all of this, I was inspired by a rather unlikely source of inspiration – American Idol. If you haven’t seen this, you must take a moment to watch it. It reminds us what true commitment is all about.
