Proverbs 6:1-2, “My son, if thou be surety for thy friend, if thou hast stricken thy hand with a stranger, Thou art snared with the words of thy mouth, thou art taken with the words of thy mouth.”
Proverbs 19:22, “The desire of a man is his kindness: and a poor man is better than a liar.”
Ecclesiastes 5:4-5, “When thou vowest a vow unto God, defer not to pay it; for he hath no pleasure in fools: pay that which thou hast vowed. Better is it that thou shouldest not vow, than that thou shouldest vow and not pay.”
Dear reader, I NEVER make any promises to anyone. I encourage you to do the same. If you do make a promise, you had better make darn sure that you know what you are committing yourself to, because talk is cheap and promises are easily broken. The Bible says that a poor man is better than a liar.
We are all guilty of being careless with our words sometimes. That is because we are all sinners by nature. I sure am guilty. The inspired Holy Bible warns in James 3:5-7, “Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth! And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell. For every kind of beasts, and of birds, and of serpents, and of things in the sea, is tamed, and hath been tamed of mankind: But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.” The reason why the tongue is so evil is obvious if you are familiar with the Scripture, because the human heart is very evil. Jeremiah 17:9, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?”
When I worked on the 76-3, Division 4, Bus Ministry in Chicago while attending Hyles-Anderson College (1985-1993), one Saturday afternoon my soulwinning partner told one of our bus kids that we'd come back in a couple hours to take him to George's restaurant for a cheeseburger. The kids was excited. But I said, “No promises!” I didn't want to get the kid's hopes up in case something happened, as it SO OFTEN DOES!
A few seconds later the boy's father graciously thanked me. He said, “Brother Dave, thank you for saying: 'No promises!'” He said, “There have been other people from the church who came by made promises to my child, but then they never came back. I respect you for saying that to my child. Thank you!” I have never forgotten what that concerned father said to me in Chicago one Saturday afternoon, and from that day until today I have prefaced everything I have ever agree to do for someone with the phrase, “No promises!”
Too many unforeseen situations can arise without warning, and they very often do arise. I don't want to be called a “liar.” But moreover, I don't want to be a liar! I have to give account to God in Heaven someday for every word that comes out of my mouth, and so do you dear friend (Matthew 12:36). A man is only as good as his word. That is why we read in Psalms 138:2, “I will worship toward thy holy temple, and praise thy name for thy lovingkindness and for thy truth: for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name.” God is only as reliable and trustworthy as His Words, so the LORD has elevated the inspired Holy Bible even above the precious name of Jesus, the name which is above every other name (Philippians 2:9-10).
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