"And don't say anything you don't mean. This counsel is embedded deep in our
traditions. You only make things worse when you lay down a smoke screen of pious
talk, saying, 'I'll pray for you,' and never doing it, or saying, 'God be with
you,' and not meaning it. You don't make your words true by embellishing them
with religious lace. In making your speech sound more religious, it becomes less
true. Just say 'yes' and 'no.' When you manipulate words to get your own way,
you go wrong." (Matt 5:33-37, MSG)
How many among us keep our word? If we would take some time to delve into this
topic, we would find that this is, indeed, a problem. We don't always keep our
word! It's true that some are worse at this than others, but that doesn't give
any of us license to do so!
One day, it seems ions ago, my boss gave me her word concerning a work
assignment. A few months later she retracted her promise. When I reminded her of
her promise, she answered: "Do you have proof? I didn't write it on paper, did
I? No. What's said can be forgotten."
Are we any better? A dad promises his daughter to attend her Christmas concert;
however, another emergency comes up, and he misses the concert. His daughter
desperately cries: "But he promised!"
It's even worse when we add "pious talk" to our promises. What will others think
of our Heavenly Father when we don't follow through?
I, too, do not always keep my promises. It's true that I attempt to honor them
at all times, but the fact is, at my age, I forget quite easily. I don't mean to
break my promises, I just forget. To avoid disillusionment, I always try to tell
people, "Please remind me or I will forget!" It sure helps. When we share our
weakness with others, they will always come through!
When my son flew back to my neck of the woods this summer, I promised him I
would be at the airport when he arrived. For someone who doesn't like to drive,
that was a huge promise. It would have been easy for me to say to my son:
"Sorry, there was too much traffic." Or "I don't feel so well!"
Instead I consulted with Google Maps and found a way to avoid highway traffic. I
could make the drive to the airport through the country where cars are sparse.
Terrific! I made certain that I would be there on time.
Why would I ever want to leave my son stranded? I hadn't seen him for 6 months!
Imagine if I were to forget to pick him up. The next time, would he be so eager
to visit?
Our "yes", should always be a "yes" and our "no" should always be a "no". After
all, we are representatives of the Most High!
Jesus always keeps His word as well. He never fails to come through for us on
time, as confirmed in Romans 5:6: "Christ arrives right on time to make this
happen. He didn't, and doesn't, wait for us to get ready. He presented himself
for this sacrificial death when we were far too weak and rebellious to do
anything to get ourselves ready. And even if we hadn't been so weak, we wouldn't
have known what to do anyway." (Rom 5:6, MSG)
By the way, can you pick me at the airport? I've already been waiting here for
over 2 hours!
Rob Chaffart
The Illustrator: This daily newsletter is dedicated to encouraging
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The Nugget: Published three times a week, this newsletter features inspirational devotionals and mini-sermons dedicated to drawing mankind closer to each other and to Christ.