Can you remember when it could be said that a person was as good as their word? A handshake was all it took to communicate a promise. It didn’t matter about the magnitude of the promise. If a person promised something then their word was their bond. “You could take it to the grave.” Over time there has been some slippage. It seems that more frequently excuses are made about why someone doesn’t come through on their promise. Doubts about a person’s word and promise become more prevalent and something written with a signature is desired. Now it is the norm that contracts are no longer desired but required for an agreement to be put in place with a sense that a promise will be kept. Integrity is questioned and some monetary assurance required. There is a wonderful poem called Anyway that gives examples of things that beautiful people of character will do and then how their acts of integrity and charity are unappreciated. The punch line to the poem is “do those good things anyway.” I believe even though people are distrusting and don’t always come through with their promises you and I should “anyway.” This world needs people of integrity to be a good example encouraging others to follow that example. Eliminate the excuses and always do what we promise. Can you imagine a return to the handshake as the only sign needed to affirm a promise? Let’s all keep our promises and hope for the best!
Even with all the mistrust and division we see in our world today here are a couple of promises that you can bank on, and you don’t need a contract for assurance. The first promise is that there is a power in this world that seeks to destroy you and me. The second promise is that there is an even greater power in this world that seeks to provide only positive and goodness to you and me. Obviously these two powers are at great odds with each other. The good news is that you and I have the ability to choose which power to align with. Logically we could say, “well duh, why would I want to align with the negative power especially when it seeks to destroy me.” Satan is the one who likes to give many enticing promises but in reality his promises are all lies. Every time we decide to do something that isn’t honest and right we have bought into some lie of his. We have tarnished our own integrity for the short-term perceived benefit.
On the other hand, God created you and I and He loves us. That is precisely why Satan seeks to destroy. He has been defeated numerous times and he is vengeful, and you and I are his targets. Who cherishes a newborn baby more than a mother? God! God knows we make mistakes, but He is forgiving and merciful and He is looking for us to be a person of integrity and to come back to Him in love. It is not unusual for us to think we don’t deserve God’s forgiveness and love and resist going to Him. That’s what the devil wants you to believe.
Accept God’s promise of eternal joy by following His call. God made a blood covenant with us promising if you and I follow Him and His will that we would be with Him in Paradise. He gave His only Son, Jesus as a sacrifice for our redemption. A covenant is far greater than any signed document. That covenant involved His Word. He also gave us a will to determine whether we would love Him back and follow him or follow the loser who seeks our destruction. Let us all be the Winner that God made us to be and seek Him out. Go to church. Visit the pastor. Dedicate ourselves to eliminating excuses and fulfilling the promise of following God. He loves you and I, and His promise is His bond.