[A few years ago there was] a caricature of commitment in that of a haughty grande dame, looking sternly through her spectacles, saying, “My mind’s made up, don’t confuse me with facts.” In a culture in which open-mindedness is the greatest virtue, the corresponding vice is, of course, “closed-mindedness.” And this has become confused with commitment. Yet, actually, far from being closed, committed thinking is the product of intellectual vigor. Very often, the lack of commitment indicates the wishy-washiness of intellectual laziness. It is the uncommitted person who lacks the rigor and discipline to really examine, really decide, really make up his mind.
Without commitment, one can acquire knowledge. It is only through commitment that one can apply that knowledge to life and gain Solomon’s desire, an understanding heart. Far from being a retreat from reason, commitment is the most rational thing a person can do. Recognizing the brevity of life, it makes the best sense to survey the options and then make choices; to choose and exercise a set of beliefs that will pattern and give meaning to life; to choose a person with whom a lasting, deepening, and truly intimate relationship can be established; to answer to a vocation with dedication…
Commitment is an act of the will, based on both reason and faith. As such, acts of commitment mark us as most fully human.
“Choose this day whom you will serve,… but as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.” (Joshua 24:15 NRSV)
-- Maxine Hancock in “Re-evaluating Your Commitments: How to Strength the Permanent and Reassess the Temporary”
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