Have You Kept Your Promises?
Let's be honest here. The answer is no. A promise is something that gives us a measure of hope. Something that is promised is something that we hope to acquire. Well, in some cases if punishment is promised, we may not be looking forward to it, but it is still expected.
What happens when someone makes a promise to you and does not do what they promised? One thing is that they have just made themselves a liar. Jesus warned us about making oaths and keeping them, lest we fail and make ourselves a liar. Another thing is that you will not trust them the next time they make a promise to you. They will have to earn your trust again; only this time, you will be more cautious.
We should also have a problem when our politicians promise us they will do something, but do not do it. We have the privilege to vote in this country and if enough people are upset about failed promises they could vote the offender out of office. But sadly, people have just come to accept lying politicians and they really do not care if they speak the truth or not.
Another problem arises when we display selective hearing of the promises. A child will hear "tomorrow we will go to the zoo", but will not hear (or pay attention) to the next phrase: "if you clean your room".
Often parents who have failed in keeping their promises are challenged by their kids of their failure. The best advice anyone could give you is to make your promises conditional. In other words you establish guidelines or rules of behavior. In order to receive what was promised one must abide by the rules or stipulations in the combined promise.
Keep in mind that if you make a promise to your kids that you will do something or take them somewhere that if some unforeseen event happens (including death); you have just made yourself a liar, and we know how God feels about liars.
So that sounds a little harsh you might say. Well let me ask you if you have ever made a promise to God. I am sure that most of you have made many promises to God. How many of you have kept your promises to God? I am sure that when you became a Christian you prayed to God that you would serve Him only and abide by His laws the rest of your life? Am I hitting close to home? When you realize you failed to keep your word, you then turned and made another promise that you would straighten up your life and live for Him. Am I right? Of course I am, and you know it. Then that failed and you probably made another promise to God. Remember what you become if you fail to keep your promise?
We are disappointed when others fail to keep their promises to us, so how do you think God feels when we fail to keep our promises to Him? You might think He would be upset, and you would be right. But also remember that God is merciful and will extend pardon if we repent and change our ways and ask for forgiveness. The whole gospel of Jesus Christ is established on better promises than the Old covenant. In Hebrews 8:6 we read: "But now He has obtained a more excellent ministry by as much as He is also the mediator of a better covenant, which has been enacted on better promises". The writer is explaining that the law of Christ is much better than the Mosaic covenant because the old covenant was hostile to the people, but Jesus' covenant was full of grace and mercy. But whether we speak of the old or new covenants we must remember that the fulfillment of God's promises are conditional upon our faithfulness and obedience. Ask God to forgive you for failing to keep your promises.
By Carey Scott

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