This week's message is about the promises that we make. Are you someone that makes a promise and never fulfils it or you never respond to the person that you had promised something? Have you said Yes with good intentions but you were unable to fulfil your Yes?
Have you ever had to say Yes to someone to feel accepted or as a way to prove that you are reliable? Or are you known to always say No but now you carefully examine when you say No and when you say Yes before making a decision?
If any of the above applies to you, this is an opportunity to ask God for mercy for promises that you have made deceitfully and for promises that you have not been able to fulfil. I have said my own prayer too.
Does God care about the promises that you make? Does He care about your words and actions? Certainly! Jesus said: "But I tell you that everyone will give account on the Day of Judgement for every empty word they have spoken. For by your words you will be acquitted (declared not guilty), and by your words you will be condemned." (Matthew 12:36-37).
Are you conscious of the promises you make? Let me share a few experiences with you. I was once part of a planning committee for an event and one of the committee members promised to do something but when it was time to redeem the pledge she had made, she became silent without any response and she removed herself from the planning team. A few of us took it upon ourselves to follow-up on her, however, our actions fell into deaf ears; till today, we still do not know what made her not to fulfil her promise.
Are you thinking Myss Lafunky has mastered the act of ensuring her Yes is a Yes and her No is a No? No! I'm a work in progress through Christ Jesus my helper. There was one thing that I had been woefully guilty of, do you know what it is? Making telephone calls. I had previously made a promise of ringing friends on a regular basis but I tend to be very pre-occupied to ring or sometimes the timid nature that I sometimes exhibit had prevented me from initiating contact. How have I been improving? I have resulted to maximise the use of text messages using different mediums and I have also shared my struggle with my friends.
An example of letting your Yes be Yes and letting your No be a No is an experience that my friend recently had. He was persuaded to undertake a task, upon several persuasions, he kept his word of 'No'. Infact, I'd also joined the people to persuade him to say Yes, however, my friend reminded me of what the Word of God says when we say Yes or No to things. He also reminded me of the importance of being a person with integrity and being truthful about what we say and the motives of what we say.
What does God say about our use of Yes and No? The bible says:
"Above all, my brothers and sisters, do not swear by heaven or by earth or by anything else. All you need to say is a simple Yes or No, otherwise you will be condemned." (James 5:12).
Jesus Christ said that: Just a simple, "Yes, I will, or No, I won't. Anything beyond this is from the evil one." (Matthew 5:37).
No doubt that we sometimes have justifiable excuses of why we have said Yes or No to something. However, the Lord is displeased and disapproved of this practice when we do not keep our word and also when we swear by heaven.
Jesus Christ wants us to be sure of what we say. He wants us to say and follow through with what whatever we say. He was an epitome of his teachings. The bible says that: "for no matter how many promises God has made, they are, "Yes" in Christ. And so through him the "Amen" is spoken by us to the glory of God." (2 Corinthians 1:20).
It's time for us to turn a new leaf. Let's be like Jesus Christ, let our Yes be Yes and our No be No to whatever we do or say.
Have a lovely week.
- Myss Lafunky
Photo Credit: www.whatchristianswanttoknow.com
