"This is what the Lord says: ‘For the many crimes of Tyre, I will punish them. They sold all the people of one area as slaves to Edom, and they forgot the agreement among relatives they had made with Israel. So I will send fire on the walls of Tyre that will destroy the city’s strong buildings." (NCB)
"Say only yes if you mean yes, and no if you mean no." (Matthew 5:37a NCB)
"Do not be rash with your mouth, and let not your heart utter anything hastily before God. For God is in heaven, and you on earth; therefore let your words be few. For a dream comes through much activity, and a fool’s voice is known by his many words. When you make a vow to God, do not delay to pay it; for He has no pleasure in fools. Pay what you have vowed—better not to vow than to vow and not pay." (Ecclesiates 5:2-5 NKJ)
There is an old saying: Say what you mean and mean what you say.
There are people who lie a little and then there are people who lie a lot. The problem is, with one lie comes a question about whether or not the next statement is a lie. And with one broken problem comes the distrust about any other promises.
God intends for us to keep our word.
He also intends for us to be prudent about what we promise. The people of Tyre were punished, not only for selling others into slavery, but for forgetting an agreement they had made with Israel. Sometimes it’s easier to let an agreement slide—to conveniently "forget" it—than to have to make good on a promise. We often promise in the moment and then, when the promise needs to be fulfilled, realize that the promise may require substantial sacrifice on our part. Since we don’t want to sacrifice, we don’t fulfill the promise.
It really can’t be that bad . . . can it?
"Let your words be few."
I believe that one of the reasons that one of the fruit of the Spirit is self-control is because we so desperately need it . . . self-control! Think about why we make those rash promises. Often it’s either to look good to someone else or it’s to manipulate a situation. In both cases, we are failing to trust God to work all things our for our good. We are stepping in because we think we know better. And we are "rash with our mouths."
"Let your words be few."
Someone once told me that we—human beings—were given two ears and one mouth so that we would listen twice as much as we talk. Pretty sound advice, I think. But more than that, God considers it a sin when we fail to make good on a promise we’ve made.
"But what do you think? A man had two sons, and he came to the first and said, ‘Son, go, work today in my vineyard.’ He answered and said, ‘I will not,’ but afterward he regretted it and went. Then he came to the second and said likewise. And he answered and said, ‘I go, sir,’ but he did not go. Which of the two did the will of his father?" They said to Him, "The first." (Matthew 21:28-31 NKJV).
Perhaps it’s better not to make a promise, but then if we are able, to make a blessing, rather than make a promise and be unable to fulfill it.
© 2014 Robin L. O’Hare. All Rights Reserved.
For permission to copy, please contact servinggodalone@yahoo.com
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