Keeping Our Word

We have to make a lot of decisions and commitments in our lives. Some of these commitments are very easy to keep, while others are fairly difficult to keep. They level of difficulty should not determine if we keep our commitment or not. It is up to us to do what we said we would do, no matter what it takes. God makes this very plain in His Word that this is a priority for God.

God states this command as a negative command. (Numbers 30:2) If we make a vow to the Lord, or if we swear an oath to bind ourselves to an agreement, we must not break our word. We must do whatever comes out of our mouth. This command comes from the Lord as a way of showing us that we have to have the character to do what we say we are going to do. That way, others know they can count on us.

So there are several elements to this command from the Lord. To begin with, we need to think before we speak. We need to have a tight reign on our lips, so that we do not say something that we don't mean. When we do make a vow to the Lord or commit ourselves to some agreement, we need to do it after much thought and prayer. This is true for any promises we might make. We must not make them in haste.

Then, once something has come out of our mouth, we must follow through with what we have promised or vowed. God holds us to this, so it is a sin if we don't keep our vow.. Others expect us to keep our word. If we are very reliable, others will see that, and it will be a good witness to them. If we fail to keep our word, people will be very skeptical about believing what we say. Therefore, let's take vows and agreements very seriously.

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Tomorrow, I intend to read Numbers 31-33.