A Fool's Promise

"When you make a vow to God, waste no time in fulfilling it, for He takes no pleasure in fools. Do what you vowed." - Ecclesiastes 5:3

I've become so cautious lately of what I promise to people and to God. I think our culture has forgotten the value and power of words. We take lightly what we give as our word and promises are no longer promises. More importantly, how many times do the words, "I swear to God," come out of our mouths? Or how many times have we been in a bind and tell God, "I promise that if You do this for me I'll pray every day and go to church every Sunday!" King Solomon, who wrote Ecclesiastes, had a term for us when we use this language often - fools. Only a fool, someone who is ignorant, can throw around promises and vows. I don't want to be a fool before God any longer and am working on letting my yes' be yes' and my no's be no's. Be a person of your word. Be a person of integrity. If you do make a promise to someone, fulfill it so people respect you and not take you for a flake. And if you make a promise to God, fulfill it because you're underestimating the power of His right hand.

Today's Prayer:
Lord, help me to be a person of integrity. Put in me the resolution to be truthful and not fool myself and others with promises I can't keep. Help me to fulfull all I have promised to You and others to the best of my ability. In Your Name we pray, amen.

Lies

"Do not take an oath for any promise. Do not swear by the heavens, for they are God's throne, nor by the earth, because it is His footstool, nor by Jerusalem because it is the city of the great king. Do not even swear by your head, because you cannot make a single hair white or black. Say yes when you mean yes and say no when you mean no. Anything else you say comes from the devil." Matthew 5:34-37

We tell lots of lies; big lies meant to deceive and little lies to not get in trouble or hurt someone's feelings. If we know that Jesus is the Truth, then lies, no matter how small, have no place in Him. When I read this verse, it really scared me. I thought about all the silly little lies I tell in the day but I really need to take this seriously if its what the Lord commands. The fact that Jesus said that we need to answer yes when yes and no when no unless we let the devil work through us should serve as a stern warning for the next time we speak to someone. And when the Lord tells us to do something, we need to remember that its for our own good. Lies, even the smallest ones, can get us into trouble that we have to keep lying about to get our heads over water. Being able to answer someone with truth merits more respect from others and makes us people of dignity and honor. It doesn't happen overnight and there's no way we could probably never lie again, but what matters is that we try to walk in faith, as Jesus did, and work with honesty instead of deceit.

Today's Prayer:
Lord, give me the strength and conviction to speak the truth at all times. Give me the courage to speak honestly and that although the truth may hurt at times, I always follow through with what Your will is. In Your Name we pray, amen.