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Just do itThursday, March 30, 2006
John 5:33-37 Jesus says:
"You have heard it was said to the people long ago,
'Do not break your oath,
but keep the oaths you have made to the Lord.'"
But I tell you, do not swear at all:
either by heaven, for it is God's throne;
or by the earth, for it is his footstool;
or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King.
And do not swear by your head,
for you cannot make even one hair white or black.
Simply
let your 'Yes' be 'Yes';
let your 'No,' 'No'.
Anything beyond this comes from the evil one.
That of course has happened to all his children, from Eve to Adam to Dave. And when I lose this sight, I lose my life. The "evil one" has me where he wants me. I've spent many hours at Promise Keeper conferences for men. Parents who fail to keep their promises leave an awful legacy to their children: words become meaningless, hope fades, negative expectations rule their children's lives. My broken promises to my children mean broken hearts for them. But Jesus is right. Who am I to say what will happen tomorrow? My best intentions are not enough. Of course I should keep my promises. But maybe I shouldn't make very many. I teach my children far more with my acts than I ever could with words. Integrity matters. I want to live with integrity. I expect others to do the same. But the word can mean anything. Even the synonyms for integrity: principled, honest, scrupulous, fair, truthful, faithful, open, consistent, trustworthy, whole - they are words. Words can be twisted and turned and spun to mean nearly anything. Jesus wants me to shut up. Say little, act much. God will guide my steps and free me from any need to say much about them. Lord, it is for freedom that you have set me free - freedom from false pride and any need to prove myself. Let my words give you glory; may your words direct my steps. |
God just won't settle for being anything but the center. When I make myself the center of things, he moves heaven and earth to help me see my mistake. He made me and all creation. He knows who is in charge of what. When I take any kind of authority over what he made, I run the real danger of losing sight of his authority over me.