Promise Breakers

Do you know of a man who seldom keeps his promises? A man who with the "best of intentions" over-promises but under-delivers? A man who does that not only to friends and people at work but to his wife and children? Such a man, if he is a non-Christian, is unsightly and, if a proclaimed believer of God, is detestable in the eyes of God. Such a man defames God's honor for the whole world knows him as an untrustworthy man whose deeds testify against the gospel.

Of course, there are times when it is necessary to have a rain check due to unforeseen circumstances but if such promise breaking becomes a habit and eventually a lifestyle, the man becomes deceitful for he knows he can't keep promises but still makes them anyway.

Proverbs 15:4

"The tongue that brings healing is a tree of life, but a deceitful tongue crushes the spirit."

And who then, suffers the most when such a man exists? If the wife has God to depend on, she as an adult, will be able to weather through the constant disappointments and learn to trust God instead of her husband. Instead of expecting the husband to rise up as the head of the household, she believes only in God as the only true head since her husband has relinquished that responsibility.

Ephesians 6:4

"Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord."

However, not so for the children. They are still learning about the world through their parents and thus, if the father proves to be untrustworthy, they will learn to distrust others and even God Himself. If, for the upteenth time, Daddy says he'll bring him to the zoo, making him look forward to the day with great excitement, but fails to do so only at the last minute due to other commitments such as work, the child will think that other things are more important than him and the disappointments will chip away at his self-confidence and trust in the father over time. It serves as the terrible role model for the child. It would have been better never to have promised in the first place! It is so much more humane for the child to learn that Daddy is expected to be busy at work since he is the breadwinner but will really spend time with him if he ever says so.

Proverbs 13:12

"Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life."

If you, who are reading this, are such a man, I urge you to examine your tongue. Think before you make any promises. It is much better to have said 'no' first and surprise the person with a 'yes' later on than give the person the expectation of that promise fulfilled only to break it at the end. Be the man of your words God wants you to be!

Matthew 5:37
"Simply let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one."

Matthew 21:28-31

“What do you think? There was a man who had two sons. He went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work today in the vineyard.’ ‘I will not,’ he answered, but later he changed his mind and went. Then the father went to the other son and said the same thing. He answered, ‘I will, sir,’ but he did not go. Which of the two did what his father wanted?”