Promises

            Keeping one’s promise was once considered the highest binding agreement between two parties.  Wars were stopped, lives were saved, marriages preserved, and trust restored.  We live in a day when one’s word is easily broken…we rationalize as we cloak our conscience by believing that the ends can justify the means in situations that are important to us.  Is it ever right to break one’s word? Certainly, I would not teach children that they cannot break their word under abusive pressure.  Rahab was honored by God even though she did not tell the truth when hiding the spies. What does God have to say on this subject?  The book of Ecclesiastes has much to say: 

            “Be not rash with your mouth, and let not your heart be hasty to utter anything before God: for God is in heaven, and you are upon earth: therefore let your words be few…When you vow a vow to the God, defer not to pay it; for he has no pleasure in fools: pay that which you have vowed.”

            One of the clearest and most meaningful passages about keeping one’s word, at least for me, is found in Psalm 15. King David first asks the question: “Who shall abide in your house? Who shall dwell in your holy hill?”  David then lists ten requirements, that includes, “He that promises to his own hurt, and does not change.”  One of the requirements to enjoy the presence of God is to keep one’s promises, even if it hurts….note David’s language again: “He that promises to his own hurt;” Even if it hurts, one’s word is the most important asset he/she can have. When you know that you can trust someone’s word, you can trust your life in their hands. In the book Throw Me Overboard, I have found one of the most delightful and powerful stories of keeping one’s word though it is kept at great personal hurt. In the face of threats and public humiliation, this is one boy who would rather be thrown overboard than to break his promise! This will be a story that the whole family will enjoy.  Another great story about keeping one’s word is found in the book Tell Me the Truth; it is a true story about a boy who was supposed to deliver a message to a man who was to make submarine sandwiches for their holiday…even after a bully steals his money and rips up half the note, his perseverance and trustworthiness resulted in protecting the United States from a German submarine attack in the New York harbor. There are four of these books in the series, Tell Me The Truth, Tell Me the Story, Tell Me the Secret, and Tell Me the Promises (this one is not in print any longer…you can possibly find it by searching the web)….i highly recommend them for family story time. Enjoy God’s presence by keeping your word.