Is commitment a dirty word?

Do you find that people are just not committed? Is loyalty old-fashioned?

I have worked for the same firm for almost 20 years. I understand that this is rare in a law firm. Most people - attorneys and support staff - move around every few years looking for a better deal. In recent years loyalty to any employer is rare. The days of staying with a company for 30 years, then retiring with your gold watch are gone.

I have been Methodist all of my life. (I admit that I have not been at the same Methodist congregation all of my life. Most recently this is because, as a pastor, I am appointed one year at a time and subject to being moved.) But apparently denominational loyalty is as rare as a person staying with the same employer. A recent survey found that nearly half of American adults had left the faith tradition of their upbringing to either switch allegiances or abandon religious affiliation altogether. More than one-quarter of American adults have left the faith of their childhood for another religion or no religion at all, the survey found. Factoring in moves from one Protestant denomination to another, the number rises to 44 percent. One in four adults ages 18 to 29 claim no affiliation with a religious institution.

And I find more and more that even people who claim to be faithful to a specific congregation in a specific denomination, they cannot commit to ministries. Someone recently complained that only a handful of people actually do things in the church. I pointed out that this is the case in any organization the old 20/80 formula - 20% of the people do 80% of the work in any group. (and I think that is being generous.) I notice that even that small percent that do the work cannot commit to things on a regular basis. I have yet to get an entire cast to attend rehearsal for an upcoming drama. Attendance in study groups or discussion groups is sporadic. This is partially because people may be over committed. That is "committed" to too many things so that they cannot be truly committed to any of their commitments.

I am guilty myself. I am in two bunko groups. While I make it to most of the gatherings in my first group, I find that I miss almost every other month in the other. This is because I have too many things going on.

And I am just getting to the area where there are real commitment issues: relationships. Again, I am not just pointing fingers here. I am guilty myself. Long-term committed relationships are not my specialty. But even someone like me cannot help but feel bad when I see all of the divorces and failed relationships around me. A most recent example would be that Alicia was to be in a wedding this month, but the groom called off the wedding. I guess it is better to realize before the wedding than to wait and get a divorce. But I cannot help but think of all the money wasted or lost by calling off a wedding within two weeks of the scheduled ceremony.

All of this - changing jobs, changing church affiliation, changing partners seems to be in keeping with what a recent article described as the high tolerance among Americans for change. The article noted that we have a very fluid society - people move a lot, people change jobs a lot.

I don't know that I have a real point. It is just an observation.