I get this awful feeling when I think I'm being lied to and unfortunately I'm usually right. People are often careless when spouting their lies that they are easily figured out. What kills me is that it's the same people lying to me who are also complaining to me about being lied to by other friends. Do we really not see our own hypocrisy? Do we really learn nothing from past experiences and the crap others put us through? And it seems silly to me that we lie about little, unimportant things; something that really wouldn't bother us had you just said the truth in the first place. Usually these lies spawn from selfish desires and wanting to not "hurt someone's feelings." You want to not hurt my feelings? Be the first human being capable of owning up to the selfishness we all possess and tell me the truth. Or better yet, stick to your word.
At Crossroads last week they were talking about commitment and cited hip hop song lyrics of "my word is bond." The literal translation of this goes a ways back before hip hop when people would actually sell stock or make deals with people and simply saying they were going to do it was reassurance enough that they wouldn't go back on their word. My word is bond; if I say I'm going to do something, it's done; no question. Could you imagine that? I completely laugh at the idea of that being even the slightest possibility these days.
God calls us to be "yes is yes" and "no is no" people. When we back out on our commitments we don't know what opportunity we have missed to forge a friendship, impact a life, or gain a connection that will benefit us in the future. It's like karma, for those of you who may not care what God has to say on the subject. It's often said that doing the right thing can be hard, but the things in life we work the hardest for are always the most rewarding because we've gained a sense of pride for accomplishing the task. So, yeah, maybe keeping our commitments isn't always easy, but then again choosing our commitments shouldn't be done hastily either. If you don't have all the intention in the world of keeping your word, then don't even open your mouth.
Ponder this: "Simply let your 'Yes' be 'Yes,' and your 'No,' 'No'; anything beyond this comes from the evil one." - Matthew 5:37
