Lynn Jones: The lasting nature of genuine commitment
By Lynn Jones
A young army private was on his first training exercise. His commanding officer said to him, “Go over to that clump of trees and take your position in a foxhole.” The young private went to the trees, looked around for a while, turned and asked the officer, “Sir, where is my foxhole?” The officer said, “You’re standing on it. Just throw out the dirt.”
One of the largest rewards I ever received was for help I rendered in the digging of a foxhole. It was in 1956, and Operation Sagebrush came to our farm in west central Louisiana. This massive army maneuver involved thousands of troops in our part of the state.
Late one afternoon the troops invaded our farm. They camped under the trees in our lane and pitched tents all over our fields. Our parents were a little nervous about it all, but it was an exciting time for my brothers and me. We inspected jeeps, visited with soldiers, and got a lot of good c-rations to use on our camping trips.
One of the things that the soldiers had to do was dig foxholes with their short-handled shovels that they carried with them. That afternoon I was standing watching one of the soldiers at work when he said to me, “Say, do you have a long-handled shovel around here that I could use?” I went to the tool shed and got him a big shovel. He finished his foxhole in nothing flat with that big shovel and gave it back to me. Then he sorted through his stuff and tossed me one large O Henry candy bar. I hid in the barn from my two hungry brothers until I had finished the candy bar. It was a wonderful reward I’ve always remembered for the small service of rendering assistance to a soldier digging his foxhole.
A lot of things have changed about warfare since 1956, but the foxhole is largely unchanged. It is still a refuge for soldiers caught in the heat of battle. Foxholes have profound effects upon soldiers. In fact, they sometimes have given rise to a certain type of religion. It is called, “foxhole religion.” Foxhole religion is the kind that you get in a crisis, but that soon dissipates when the crisis is over. It is closely related to “jailhouse religion” and “hospital religion.”
This kind of religion is similar to, but very distinct from, the real thing. Genuine religion is characterized by commitment. Commitment is the quality that compels you to carry out a resolution long after the mood in which it was made has left you.
No trumpets sound when the most important decisions of our lives were made, but in retrospect we can see what they were. They are decisions that last. One of those decisions ought to be our commitment to Jesus Christ!
Lynn Jones is a retired pastor who lives in Oxford. He does supply preaching for churches in his area and often serves as an interim pastor. Jones is also an author, has written two books and writes a weekly newspaper column. He may be contacted at: kljones45@yahoo.com.
