Matthew 5:37 “Let your yes be yes and your no be no”.
“Our mouth must be hooked to our heart and not our head.”
A person’s integrity is measured by their words. Those who make a promise and keep it at all costs are integrous and faithful. The integrous would keep their word even if it is inconvenient or disadvantageous (Psalm 15:4). Hence James defines perfection as the purity of the tongue. Anyone who is never at fault in what they say is perfect, able to keep their whole body in check (James 3:2). The mouth reveals the heart of a man.
King David is celebrated for various achievements but one notable and noble virtue was his integrity. When David fled from King Saul, he made a solemn oath to his best friend Jonathan that he will show kindness to his family. After over a decade when David became king, he remembered his promise to his dead friend and searched for the surviving members of Jonathan’s family. “Don’t be afraid,” David said to him, “for I will surely show you kindness for the sake of your father Jonathan. I will restore to you all the land that belonged to your grandfather Saul, and you will always eat at my table” (2 Kings 7:9). David’s integrity to his promise is commendable.
It is pertinent to ‘mean what we say and say what we mean’. We must never speak words that would please the audience. Don’t invite anyone whom you don’t intend to host. Don’t make promises that you cannot keep and don’t intend to fulfill. Don’t speak careless words. Let your words be faithful, truthful and integrous.
Keep you promise:
- Promise: If you make a promise, keep it – at any cost. Walk the extra mile —show up at the coffee shop on time and pray for those you said you would pray for. God rewards those who are truthful to their words.
- Persist: Persist to fulfill the promise. Don’t find ways to wiggle out of the promise. Don’t find excuses but persist to do what you say.
- Priority: Keeping our promise is not an option, it must be our priority.
The integrity of a person is measured by the faithfulness to their promise.
God rewards integrity.
Prayer: Father God, train me to be like you – integrous to the words I say and the promises I make. Amen.
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