C.S. Lewis—A man who kept his commitments

One of the most strange (and possibly disturbing) facets of Lewis’ life was his consistent commitment to a woman who is called, “Mrs. Moore”.

A recent Lewis’ biographer sets the background,

"Jack," as Lewis was known to his family, enlisted during the First World War while still a teenager. While undergoing training, he befriended a young man named Paddy Moore, who had a divorced mother (Mrs. Moore) and younger sister, Maureen, back at home. The young men promised each other that if one of them were to be killed in combat, the other would look after his friend's parent.”

As providence would have it, Jack survived and made good on his promise….a promise that would last for more than 30 years.

To those who are unfamiliar with this feature of Lewis’ life, this commitment likely seems very noble and even ethical.

Yet it was the degree of commitment and concurrent mystery surrounding this relationship that concerned many of Jack’s friends. Since Jack lived with Mrs. Moore, provided for her financially, the natural question posed often in the form of a whisper, “Did C.S. Lewis have an affair with Mrs. Moore?”

Lewis’ biographer speculates,

“Were they lovers? Owen Barfield, who knew Jack well in the 1920’s, once said that he thought the likelihood was “fifty-fifty”. Although she was twenty-six years older than Jack, she was still a handsome woman, and he was certainly infatuated with her. But it seems very odd, if they were lovers, that he would call her “mother”. It seems most likely that he was bound to her by the promise he had given to Paddy and that his promise was reinforced by his love for her as his second mother.”

So here is the pertinent question: How can I become a person who is dependable?  

                                         

#1--Keep your word.

Christians should be honest, trustworthy and dependable. This means “keeping your word”. If you say, “Yes, I will do that for you.”, then at all costs you should fulfill your commitment.

#2--Be on time.

Though I don’t have concrete data, I would guess this is probably the commitment that is most commonly broken. We even have a cultural term to describe our tardiness, being “fashionable late”.

Is “being late” a big deal? Is it in offense to others? I believe it is. Furthermore, I believe most of the time we are late because we are unorganized, lazy and mostly…selfish. If we consider others most important than ourselves (Phil. 2:3), then we will care enough to do what it necessary to be on time, even if it requires great sacrifice or personal inconvenience.   

#3--Don’t over-commit yourself.

The reason why people over-commit is because they won’t say “NO”. These individuals are horrified at the thought of others being “displeased” with them. Yet the irony is that these people often become labeled as unreliable, because they are constantly “double-booking” their lives.

How do you fix this? Prioritize, prioritize, prioritize.

And if you need help with this, pursue a mature believer who can give you an outsider’s perspective.

Remember our Savior was faithful to one task: Doing His Father’s will.

John 4:34 Jesus said to them, "My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work.