The Risk of Making Promises

Words can carry many things or absolutely nothing. However, they are like swords and must be used very carefully rather than recklessly so they don’t inflict damage and injury. One thing that words lack the most these days is truth. It is hard to find someone who will speak words with truth and keep their word by remaining true to it.
“Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform your oaths to the Lord.’ But I say to you, do not swear at all: neither by heaven, for it is God’s throne; nor by the earth, for it is His footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. Nor shall you swear by your head, because you cannot make one hair white or black. But let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No.’ For whatever is more than these is from the evil one.” – Matthew 5:33-37.
Jesus is saying you don’t have to make promises, or oaths, or swear by something. He is simply saying that your words should be so truthful that they have a reputation people can trust without a promise, oath, or swearing by someone. In today’s time, most people’s words cannot be trusted and now even their promises and oaths cannot be trusted either. In fact, many people joke around with them because they are ignorant of just how important they are. There were consequences for breaking promises in the Old Covenant. One of the reasons Jesus said there is no need for you to make promises but rather let your words simply be true is because oaths and promises are binding. Each oath and promise has some form of consequence that follows breaking it; a much greater consequence than not staying true to your words. In the Old Covenant, swearing by the Lord’s name was taken extremely seriously. It was something you did not break at any cost. This was also the same with blessings. Jacob and Esau both desired their father’s blessing even to the point of Jacob deceiving Isaac.
“When you make a vow to the Lord your God, you shall not delay to pay it; for the Lord your God will surely require it of you, and it would be sin to you. But if you abstain from vowing, it shall not be sin to you. That which has gone from your lips you shall keep and perform for you voluntarily vowed to the Lord your God what you have promised with your mouth.” – Deuteronomy 23:21-23.
Yes, breaking a promise is most assuredly sin. Rather than making 100 promises, try focusing on being true and faithful to your words today. Ecclesiastes says that it is better to promise nothing rather than to promise something you cannot accomplish or deliver.
“When you make a vow to God, do not delay to pay it; for He has no pleasure in fools. Pay what you have vowed – better to not vow than bow and not pay. Do not let your mouth cause your flesh to sin, nor say before the messenger of God that it was an error. Why should God be angry at your excuse and destroy the work of your hands? For in the multitude of dreams and many words there is also vanity. But fear God.” – Ecclesiastes 5:4-7.
There is a few points made in this passage. One is that promises shouldn’t be made unless they can be 110% assured to be kept. That is why you should think before you make such a commitment. The next point made is that many people will make a promise and say that it was an accident that they didn’t keep it. When it comes to promises, be warned there is no excuse that will justify not keeping your promise. That is why Jesus said don’t make promises because if something in your life happens and causes you to break your promise, then you are held accountable regardless of your excuse. Then in the last verse of this passage, it says that many words have vanity. Well, those people who go around making 100 promises a day have many words and oaths, but it is all vanity because they can’t keep a sliver of those promises. Finally, it says to fear God because, through the fear of the Lord, you understand and respect how highly He esteems promises and understand the warning Jesus told us about them. So overall, simply focus on keeping your word rather than making a bunch of promises that will never be fulfilled. Don’t let there be a reason for disobedience and sin in your life and this is one way that it sneaks in through ignorance about this topic. Be true to your words and if you do make a promise, make sure you have fully considered the cost of it even when life goes crazy.