30 Minutes or Less

Have you ever considered the level of commitment you have towards your family, job, or to God? Once in a while, for whatever reason (probably lack of sleep), I think about what percentage of my total available effort I am giving to my various responsibilities. Do I do the dishes often enough? Do I plan enough activities for the youth group? Do I dedicate enough of my time to serving God?
This morning, I read a story on foxnews.com about a 19-year-old pizza deliveryman from New York City. Assami Semde, a student at Burkina Faso, has only been in the U.S. for six months. He works for Famous Famiglia 125 pizza in East Harlem. Friday evening, Semde came across two men in a hallway on his way to deliver a pizza to an apartment. The men started to harass Semde, asking for a slice of pizza. When Semde refused, one of the men pulled a gun on him. Semde, 6-foot-4, lunged at the man as he bent over to grab a slice of one of the pizzas Semde had dropped to the floor. Building security happened to come by on a routine check and the two men fled. Before going to the police precinct to file a report, Semde delivered the pizzas. They were undamaged and still hot.
If you find yourself in a position like Semde’s, I don’t recommend attacking an armed man to save a couple pizzas. Semde’s boss, a retired NYPD officer, told his employee to leave the pizza next time and get away safely. I have to commend Semde’s commitment to his job. We are told in scripture to “lay aside the old man” (Eph. 4:22) and “put on the new man.” (Matt. 16:24) We are to follow God without any attachment to who we were before we became committed followers of Christ. We become “living sacrifices.” (Rom. 12) Consider the level of commitment of the persons listed in Hebrews 11. We should model this level of dedication on our lives, willing to make sacrifices for our God.