Promises, Promises

"Pinkie Swear?"
"Cross my heart and hope to die. Stick a needle in my eye."
"Swear on a stack of Bibles."
"On my mother's life"

Oh the things we say to make others believe that what we tell them is the truth. How could they possibly doubt our ability to keep our promises? After all, would we have promised in the first place if we didn't intend to follow through? Unless, of course, a better offer comes along, it gets too difficult to follow through, the cost is greater than we planned, or they do something to make us mad.

The Bible tells us to let our "yes" be yes and our "no" be no. Yet we feel the need to add to these simple words as if they aren't enough. Probably because we know that we are a sinful people prone to speak before we think and to take the easy way out in life. It can't really matter if we don't take our kids to the park this afternoon. Things got busy and we can always go another day. It is okay to be late to set up for the church dinner. Other people signed up too, so there will be plenty of help. If we had known ahead of time that mortgage rates were going to go up so much so quickly, we never would have bought the house, but now it is just too hard to pay that each month so the bank can just take it back.

We press on toward the perfection that God calls us to, but the slope is great and slippery. We excuse one small infraction and pretty soon our words are meaningless so we add to them to enforce the meaning. Let's work on following the example set by our Lord and Master. No matter how seemingly impossible the promise, God always keeps His word. Sarah and Abraham laughed when He said they would have a son. They knew that they were too old and it was impossible. God kept His word anyway. Mary knew she was a virgin, but God made her the mother of Christ. Everyone knows that they fall short of the holiness God requires for salvation, but God gave his only Son to redeem His people. Sometimes it is difficult, uncomfortable, and costly, but it is always worth it in the end.