– Scripture:

And don’t say anything you don’t mean. This counsel is embedded deep in our traditions. You only make things worse when you lay down a smoke screen of pious talk, saying, ‘I’ll pray for you,’ and never doing it, or saying, ‘God be with you,’ and not meaning it. You don’t make your words true by embellishing them with religious lace. In making your speech sound more religious, it becomes less true. Just say ‘yes’ and ‘no.’ When you manipulate words to get your own way, you go wrong.

                        Matthew 5:33–37 MSG

 – Reflection:

                      Empty Promises

Jesus states that all we need to say is “Yes, I will” or “No. I won’t”. That simple; anything beyond that is misleading or manipulative. No is a full sentence by itself; yes, I can understand the message Jesus has placed in the word. However, we humans love our words and the meaning they project. So there will be times that your mouth will allow you to say something that is manipulative, lie, or hurt someone. The best thing is to honor the spoken words, and if they hurt someone, make it right. If you promised something you knew you would never deliver, repent and ask GOD for forgiveness, then make it right. Don’t leave an open-ended promise to someone, even if you think it is meaningless. The other person could be looking forward to the lie you told.

Where do we go from here?

Don’t make promises you know are empty. 

Our Prayer for Today

Father GOD, thank you for allowing the patient to get this prayer together this morning, not creating an empty promise that I feel I have started. It is your will that we come to you when a mistake or an issue is raised out of mis-care. Allow us not to dwell in a place where we can speak words that will hurt one another or cause them harm. We believe we should measure the words we speak to make conversation by promising something we may not be able to deliver. Amen.