You’ve seen the ads. Chances are you’ve bought the products. Air fresheners, disinfectant wipes, and…well…99% of cleaning products on the market generally make the same claim: they’ll kill 99% of germs, 100% of the time. The question is whether or not 99% is good enough, and the answer inevitably depends on the context of the claim.

For example, a police department that successfully solved 99% of local crimes would be doing pretty good, as would any doctor that managed to send 99% of cancer patients into remission. For all intents and purposes, a bottle of hand sanitizer that sterilizes 99% of the germs on my hands is worth the money.

But there are as many scenarios when 99% is simply unacceptable. What if a hospital advertised a 99% success rate when it came to giving the right baby to the right mother? What if credit card companies charged only 99% of purchases to the right account, or your bank properly processed only 99% of transactions? Chances are it wouldn’t take an expensive advertising campaign for these inadequacies to become public knowledge.

On a more personal level, would you be satisfied in knowing your spouse was 99% sure he/she loved you? What if 1 John 4:8 read, “He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is mostly love?” Suppose the Word of God Itself claimed only to be 99% accurate? Chances are you would be hesitant to invest your life in a relationship if you weren’t entirely sure your feelings were reciprocated, or to follow God wholeheartedly if you thought there was a chance He didn’t exist.

In the same way, serving God is one of the many areas of life that requires absolute commitment. It’s not difficult to fill the majority of one’s time with godliness. You may attend church Sunday morning, listen to Christian music on your way to Cracker Barrel afterwards, and engage in Christian conversation around the table. But if you refuse the Lord’s leading to share the Gospel with the waitress, you successfully filled roughly 99% of your day with God but came up short when it mattered most. As the apostle Paul would have said, a little leaven leavened the whole lump (Gal. 5:9).

Over the next several weeks, we’re going to take an in-depth look at the difference between partial commitment and complete devotion. The differences may not always be obvious, but they are nevertheless important and often carry with them eternal consequences – both for you and those you influence.

Part 1 is scheduled to go live one week from today, so check back on Sunday or subscribe via email to make sure you don’t miss it. In the meantime, please leave a comment or shoot me an email with your thoughts or favorite Bible verses on the subject.