Keep Your Word

Are you trustworthy? It’s easy to make rash promises, or allow the busyness of life to keep us from carrying out our commitments. God intended oaths as a help in upholding truthfulness, but it had become common in Israel to invent loopholes that enabled the Jews to escape the responsibility of making good on their word. Jesus' condemnation of this deceitful practice has led some to believe that He forbade oaths altogether, but that’s not the case at all. We are free to promise, but once that promise is made, we are bound to keep it. Our word must be reliable. We cannot allow the fear of man or even our own desire to help become a stumbling block to others, or an impediment to our integrity. Be cautious in your commitments, and don’t promise what you can’t deliver. Know the limits of what you can do, and be careful to seek God’s glory in serving others and not your own. The Lord can always be trusted to keep His word. Can you?