Verse of the day:
Genesis 50:5 ‘My father made
me swear, saying, “Behold, I am dying; in my grave which I dug for myself in
the land of Canaan, there you shall bury me.” Now therefore, please let me go
up and bury my father, and I will come back.’”
One
of the most hurtful things we can do as born again believers is fail to keep
our word. When we make promises that we do not intend to keep, or make promises
and then make no real effort to keep them, we end up hurting family, friends,
and we fracture relationships. As Christians, when we give our word to do
something, we are representing Christ, and the blemish is not only on us, but
on our testimony as a follower of Jesus. Matthew 5:37 tells us that our ‘yes’
should be ‘yes’ and our ‘no’ should be ‘no’. In other words, it should not be
necessary for us to take an oath, or vow to do something, to prove our
faithfulness in keeping our word. Too often we allow the busyness of our lives to
override the things we have promised others we would do; and I am afraid that
many of us are guilty of this. As born again believers we should be known as
the most trustworthy people who do what we say we will do. Whether in personal
relations, or in conducting business, we should have the kind of reputation
that would bring someone to our defense, if we are not present, and being
accused of being someone who deals dishonestly with others by not following
through on whatever we say we will do. Joseph had made a promise to his father
Israel, and now that his father has died, he had every intention on keeping his
promise. The fact that he was adamant in keeping his word was founded on the fact
that Joseph was a man of integrity. Proverbs 11:3 tells us that, “The integrity of the
upright will guide them, but the perversity of the unfaithful will
destroy them.” A person who continually fails to honor his/her word
reveals the fact that they are a person of little or no integrity; and this
ought never to be the testimony of one who represents Jesus Christ on this
earth. Sadly, a person who cares little about keeping his/her word, in general,
is also a person who will make promises, and vows, to God, but continually fail
to follow through, thereby taking God’s grace and forgiveness for granted. King
Solomon warns us in Ecclesiastes 5:4, “When you make a vow to God, do not delay
to pay it; for He has no
pleasure in fools.” All too often, well meaning Christians do this in promising
to give in the local church, whether it involves tithes, offerings, missions,
or a particular need. A person is convicted to give, makes a promise to give,
but then procrastinates in giving, and eventually talks themselves out of
giving what they promised they would give. We can find many excuses, or should
I say that the devils give us plenty of excuses, as to why it is okay to not
follow through on what we promised we would do. “After all, the circumstances
were different when I said I could/would do that.” Sound familiar? The bottom
line is that we, who proclaim to love God, and represent Jesus, should be known
as people whose word can be always trusted, and counted on.
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