Why halfway is no way when we’re discussing your Christian life
By Dean Collins
Is there any benefit to going halfway? I guess if you are trying to lose weight it might be better to eat half the pie instead of the whole pie. But then again, maybe leaving the whole pie alone would be a better plan. And halfway with a diet probably won’t work. We need all the nutrients, not half of them. Maybe we need a whole plan, not just part of a plan, to be successful in healthy eating.
What about exercise? Maybe walking a half mile instead of a mile is better than not walking at all. But generally halfway exercise won’t bring the results you hoped to achieve. Try doing half a push-up and you simply end up flat on the floor!
Try doing half a push-up and you simply end up flat on the floor!
And what about your job? What would happen if you decided to show up for work half the time instead of keeping your full responsibility?
As it turns out, doing anything halfway has marginal benefits and may in the end get you all the way to failure.
Whole commandment
I got to thinking about half instead of whole as I stopped at a couple verses in Deuteronomy 8 this morning. Early into the second speech of three in Deuteronomy, Moses referred to the “whole commandment” and challenged God’s chosen to remember the “whole way” God had led them over the last 40 years. God didn’t stop halfway to the Promised Land. He led them the whole way. Now as they embrace the blessing of the Promised Land, Moses is making sure they stay wholly devoted to God.
There’s not a place for halfway faith or halfway obedience. Maybe we should take a minute and think about how we approach the commands of God and the plans he has for us.
Total commitment
In what areas of your life are you willing to be halfway committed? Marriage? Management of your personal finances? Parenting? What if you picked a surgeon for a procedure and they stopped halfway through the operation? Halfway can bring disappointment and dissatisfaction and often disaster.
The obvious next question has to do with Jesus. Sadly, I would suggest that much of the failure of the church to impact our communities and extend God’s kingdom comes down to a halfway approach to Jesus, his Word, and his commands. Picking and choosing what parts of Jesus’ teachings work for us isn’t an option. Today, just a few days after Easter, I suspect you would agree that Jesus gave up everything for us. His love took him all the way, not part way, to the cross.
When Jesus was asked by the lawyer what commandment was the greatest, he answered we are to love God with all of our heart, all of our soul, and all of our mind. The lawyer agreed. That is exactly what God requires. No scholar, rabbi, or pastor would say to love the Lord your God with half your heart, some of your soul, and a pinch of your mind.
Jesus quickly told the lawyer there was a second commandment like the first. It’s really the how-to of the first commandment: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” According to Jesus, everything hangs on these two commands. There’s not an option to love just God and ignore your neighbors. There’s also not a path that suggests love only others and disregard God.
As you read today’s Scriptures listed below and consider this devotional, ask God to show you where you have been tempted to be only halfway into what he has asked of you.
Your time with God’s Word
Deuteronomy 8:1-2; Matthew 22:35-40; John 13:34; Acts 20:27; Proverbs 7:1-3 ESV
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Photo by Edgar Perez on Unsplash
