Reliable?

Biblical scholar Howard Hendricks once told his son Bob, “Be so dependable that if you say you will be somewhere and don’t show up, they send flowers.”

Are you thought of as reliable?  Are the commitments that you make as good as done?  If you don’t fulfill a vow to be somewhere… will those you’ve made a promise to think a bad thing has happened?  If this doesn’t sound like you… I’ve got good news:  today is a new day.  Making our word our bond requires a steadfast commitment.   Scripture echoes the importance of being good on our words in Matthew 5:37.  It says,  “Just say a simple, ‘Yes, I will,’ or ‘No, I won’t.’ Anything beyond this is from the evil one.”  If you’re given the opportunity to make a commitment…stop and think about it.  Are you really going to honor it?  Will you really show up?  If so, great!  If not, remember, it’s better not to make a vow, than to make one and break it later.  Be a person of integrity… someone that people can trust… and when you say “yes” or “no” in the future, those around you will know exactly where they stand and what’s going to happen as a result of your decision.  

Yes I Will

Biblical scholar Howard Hendricks once told his son Bob, “Be so dependable that if you say you will be somewhere and don’t show up, they send flowers.”

Are you thought of as reliable?  Are the commitments that you make as good as done?  If you don’t fulfill a vow to be somewhere… will those you’ve made a promise to think a bad thing has happened?  If this doesn’t sound like you… I’ve got good news:  today is a new day.  Making our word our bond requires a steadfast commitment.   Scripture echoes the importance of being good on our words in Matthew 5:37.  It says,  “Just say a simple, ‘Yes, I will,’ or ‘No, I won’t.’ Anything beyond this is from the evil one.”  If you’re given the opportunity to make a commitment…stop and think about it.  Are you really going to honor it?  Will you really show up?  If so, great!  If not, remember, it’s better not to make a vow, than to make one and break it later.  Be a person of integrity… someone that people can trust… and when you say “yes” or “no” in the future, those around you will know exactly where they stand and what’s going to happen as a result of your decision.  

God's Promise

“So God has given both his promise and his oath. These two things are unchangeable because it is impossible for God to lie. Therefore, we who have fled to him for refuge can have great confidence as we hold to the hope that lies before us.”  Hebrews 6:18

There once was a man who was known as a major cheapskate.  All his life, every time he got paid, he took $20 and put it under his mattress.  After many years, he got sick and was about to die.  As he was dying, he said to his wife “I want you to promise me one thing.”  “What?” she asked.  “I want you to promise me that when I’m dead you will take my money from under the mattress and put it in my casket so that I can take it all with me.”  After the man died, his wife kept her promise... She took the cash, went to the bank, deposited the money, and then wrote a check for the full amount.  And with a smile on her face, placed the check in the casket with her dead husband.

Promises can be wonderful.  When properly kept, they can strengthen friendships and change lives.  But as in the case of this clever wife, promises can also be twisted, manipulated, and outright broken.  Not the case with God.  When He promises something... you can count on it.  Hebrews 6:18 tells us that He is honest and good on His Word.  Let’s live our lives confident of this... that when we trust Him, He is worthy of it.  When He promises He’ll be there... He will be. 

Believe it.