My, Devotion to Him #18
VERSE PASSAGE: Matthew 5:33-37 “Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not break your oath, but fulfill to the Lord the vows you have made.’ But I tell you, do not swear an oath at all: either by heaven, for it is God’s throne; or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King. And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black. All you need to say is simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one” – NIV
When me and my wife got married she would always have me pinky promise her when I would give my word. At first I never understood why. After a few times I asked her why she would have me do this. She told me because people do not keep their word, but people who pinky promise always mean what they say. Gotta love her. She has been a huge influence in creating these devotionals. So, this devotional is dedicated to her.
People who have or need to swear to validate his/her statements is a person whose word is no good. Neither is a person who has to make a promise in order to make his/her statement seem worthy or to make people believe them.
The thrust of Jesus’ teaching here is that we should live in such a manner that no one would ever have to have additional proof that we are telling the truth. Our word should be our bond.
Now, if you haven’t heard the story of the “The Boy Who Cried Wolf” I’ll give you a quick rundown. This story is wrote by Aesop. There was a Shepard boy who cried wolf all the time. And when the time came when the wolf actually came no one believed him, and all the sheep were eaten. There is a lack of integrity in the world today. So much that it has become a crisis.
Very few people conduct business anymore with their word and a handshake. Very few people give someone their commitment with their word at all. We are in the age of contracts, pledges, millions of paperwork that require signatures and all sorts of stuff. Because we have gotten to a point where our word is not our bond. Now we place our faith in a piece of paper in hopes that if someone backs out we can sue them, damage their life, take everything from them, smear them, etc.
Well, that was the case. We have since moved on to buying the highest paid lawyer, in which they get our case heard by a judge who decides and if we don’t like if we can appeal. We have lost our bond in our word, since then losing our bond in paper form. This is outrageous.
God has fulfilled every word He has ever spoken. We were created in His image and He planned for us to be the same way. Even our physical bodies respond differently when we lie. That’s why lie detectors work, and even that is becoming challenging as some people have absolutely no value in their word, no integrity, no morales at all, so corrupted that lie detectors don’t work on them.
Today, commit yourself to be a new man or woman of your word. You will not only experience a new respect from others, but you will find the joy of a clear heart and mind. Together let’s rebuild the value of words. Bring back integrity. Sit back and think what the world would look like if people’s word was their bond and everyone kept their bond.
Two pleasures in life of people who keep their word:
1. The discovery of someone who is trustworthy.
2. A friendship with someone who discerns that can be trusted.
NOTES:
1. Keep your word
2. Carefully review and fulfill any vow, promises, or pledged in which you have made to others.
3. Never promise that which you cannot keep. Make things right with anyone in which your word was broken.
Copyright © 2017 by Jacob D. Olinger
Spirit Warrior Ministry 