Finish What You Started

2 Corinthians 8:11
Now finish doing it, so that your eagerness may be matched by completing it according to your means.

It’s so easy to quit when you are in the middle of something especially when the fire of your initial enthusiasm has died down to a flicker. We’ve all had projects, assignments, and commitments we began with great zeal only to run out of gas because we grew tired or lost our emotional buzz but if we are to ever accomplish anything great we have to finish what we started.

The Apostle Paul is challenging the church in Corinth to come through on their promise to give an offering for the Poor in Jerusalem. When he initially shared with them the need of the poor everyone was fired up but as time went on they retreated back into their narcissistic shells and left the poor people in Jerusalem hanging.

It’s kind of like Americans who get fired up and compassionate about human tragedies like Haiti but when the cameras are turned off and CNN is off to the next thing the Haitians are still sleeping in tents and we have become numb to another unfinished project. We must finish what we started with follow mission trips, helping to rebuild the infrastructure, and empowering the people of Haiti through our generosity. We’ve got to finish what we started.

On a smaller scale how many personal projects have we left undone because we lost our eagerness? We have got to learn how to finish what we started.

1. Act your way into a feeling. When we are in church it is so easy to get emotional when a vision is shared. People are excited and pledge to give money, or to sign up for a ministry or to be consistent with their worship attendance but when they get out of the church the routine of life meets them on Monday and the feeling they had in church is gone. You can’t rely on feelings. Once you have made a commitment you have to follow up even if the feelings aren’t present. Once you go through with the act the feelings will soon follow. As long as the act is not a performance but an action toward a noble commitment.

2. Set a time to finish. If we do not set a goal some projects can go on to infinitum. Give yourself a deadline so that you will not continue on with something that needs to be finished.

3. Fight through mendacity. Mendacity is the state of being untrue. Quit lying to yourself that you are going to get to something when you have made no initiative to do so. Procrastination is the cousin of a lie. You are lying to yourself by continuing to put off for what you need to finish.

4. Don’t rush success. Often times when we don’t have an immediate return on our effort we are ready to give up. I believe it was Earnest and Julio that said, “you can’t rush good wine, it takes time.”

5. Fulfill your commitment. There is a sense of fulfillment when you finish what you started. Whether it’s turning in a paper on time or completing a tour of duty, nothing feels better than knowing I did what I said I was going to do. When it boils down to it all you have is your name, people judge you by watching to see if you are gong to do what you say you are going to do. The bible says Samuel was a trustworthy prophet because “none of his words fell to the ground.” Don’t let your words fall to the ground by failing to finish what you started.

Dear God, give me the fortitude to finish what I started. I want to quit sometimes when the road gets rough and the hills get hard to climb but if you give me the strength to climb then I can make it to the top. I’m going to finish what I started, starting today.

In Jesus Name,

Amen