SAY WHAT YOU MEAN, MEAN WHAT YOU SAY

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In Christ, Mark

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

It is a trap to dedicate something rashly and only later to consider one’s vows.

Proverbs 20:25            

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Have you ever made a promise to someone and then found you could not keep it?

I think we have all done it in the course of our lifetime and I don’t know about you but there aren’t too many more worse feelings than knowing you disappointed and let someone down.

There’s probably any number of reasons why we make the mistake of saying we’ll do something and then not follow through.

Maybe we have trouble telling someone “no” and so we say “yes” even though we know deep inside that we can’t keep our commitment. In this instance, it’s as if we are delaying the disappointment one might feel until we aren’t present, buying ourselves time before we turn from what we’re asked to do.

Perhaps we didn’t consider just how busy we will be in the future. We don’t think about what’s ahead and so we commit and then realize later on that we will be hard pressed to keep our word given the other things on our schedule.

We may have unseen events pop up that get in the way of us fulfilling our vow. I think the saying goes like this: “Life happens.” No one knows what’s ahead and no one can predict any number of circumstances that can happen in life that can put everything we had planned on hold, sometimes indefinitely. In cases like this, it’s really not our fault that we fail to meet our obligations. We cannot control the matters of life.

Finally, we may tell someone we will do something when we have no intention of ever doing it. We lie about our willingness to take on something and not only is this sinful but it intentionally serves to bring hurt and frustration to the one we are violating.

Yes, we are all guilty of going back on our word. We are all guilty of not saying what we mean and meaning what we say.

The matter of keeping promises is at the heart of today’s proverb as we wind down looking at individual nuggets of wisdom written by Solomon between Proverbs Chapter 10 and Chapter 22:16. Look at this verse:

It is a trap to dedicate something rashly and only later to consider one’s vows. Proverbs 20:25

It’s interesting to know that more than 2,000 years ago, people like us were struggling with many of the same matters. The scriptures are full of examples we can relate to when we really study them and through our study we learn that it’s in our human nature to err, particularly when we do so sinfully. Indeed, our sinful DNA traces back to Adam and Eve and that fateful day in the garden.

God’s word for today instructs us to approach commitment with caution, to carefully consider what we are saying what we will do to ensure that we will be able to keep our promises. The key word here is caution to proceed judiciously in pondering all factors involved in us being able to do what we are being asked to do. Better to say we can’t do something than to say we can when we know in our hearts that we can’t or we’re not willing to.

Through this all, we should use the Lord as our model. For when it comes to making and keeping promises, as in all matters of life, we are to follow the lead of the One who created us, to emulate His character and spirit in all we do.

Think about it. The Lord has never gone back on any promise He has made. He is the only One who has perfectly fulfilled every vow. He has always said what He meant and meant what He said.

Why would we want to model ourselves after anyone else?

I say this because when you look at the other option, modeling yourself after another person, you are choosing to emulate someone who is a failure at keeping promises. No man or woman is worthy to follow in the footsteps of when it comes to the matter of keeping their word for we fall way short when it comes to the matter of keeping promises.

If you don’t believe that then I want you to just consider every sin you have committed and how many times you repented of those sins, only to repeat them later. Repentance is nothing more than a vow you are making with the Lord, right? You confess your wrongs, ask for forgiveness, and then promise to turn from the sin you committed. The problem is that we don’t turn from sin. We go back on our word and in doing so we break our promise with our Lord and we do it so often that we are too often numb to it.

Friends, this is no matter to take slightly. It’s bad to go back on the promises we make to one another. It’s infinitely worse to break our promises with the Lord God Almighty. The key to fixing this issue is to first stop breaking our promises with the Lord. That has to be the first step. And before you think this is an impossibility, I ask you to remember the scriptures that remind us that nothing is impossible with God. He can fix anything including our inability to make and keep promises. We can’t do it on our own but with His strength, power, and discernment, we can say what we mean and mean what we say.

If you don’t believe it, why don’t you give it a try and see for yourself? The Lord God will not let you down.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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