Christian Living

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Promises are meant to be commitments that someone can depend on; it is a form of security that we all seem to crave in one form or another.

However many false promises are made and not kept in this world by everyone, including myself. At times it reminds me of when I was a little girl and we played this silly child’s game of pulling petals from a flower and counting them by saying he loves me, he loves me not for serious decision making. Similar in action of wishing upon a star I suppose, but hopefully left behind by all in childhood for the real promises left to us through the Lord Jesus.

This being the week celebrating love and the commercial Valentines holiday, plus all the Political Games going on around us, we can observe various promises being made by people to others, that we know realistically many will fall by the wayside down the road.

Am I being too cynical, maybe a little, but none the less realistic anyway, it seems a little wisdom comes with age and a little of life’s experiences. It isn’t that we purposely endeavor to make a false promise to others (political ones are the exceptions) but the simple fact that we are subject to human weaknesses; and things often get in our way to change our priorities about how we may feel or take action about certain things.

We promise to love someone for life only to be betrayed possibly by the other down the road of life or we fall out of love supposedly and are no longer compatible, it doesn’t matter what the excuse or reason is; it’s a promise or commitment that has gone array for whatever reason.

On the other hand the politicians tend to promise us everything that seems to tempt or manipulate our fleshly desires about things we feel we need, or feel we have a right to do. From past experience they won’t be able to fulfill all the promises made either; often it will be blamed later on the some other branch or governing body for it going array, that’s called politics. Some of these promises they never planned on fulfilling at all, but it was good for the election process or let’s call it the game of politics. Most of them live in a different world than the average person resides in, and power often seems to corrupt as they say. That’s biblical also if I remember correctly.

Again promises are suppose to be a commitment to your word, in the old days the belief was that a man was as good as his word, and only a handshake was needed to seal the matter between two parties. Today that isn’t the case in the world we live in, we need written documents that outline everything we agree to, and then we have professionals who argue over ever jot and title trying to find some loophole in them if the need ever arises for us to confront them legally let’s say.

Generally broken promises have a connection to the weakness common to mankind in our sinful nature that led us to break them. They can be as simple as being too tired to be bothered or observant, or even some greed or lust that resides within us, that can overtake our emotions in this flesh we inhabit. We desire more than we have, or feel someone else isn’t doing their part of the deal, whatever we feel we have been wronged and desire to fight for our rights.
1Corinthians 13:4-8 is a good study on how true love works by the way. This is true commitment we need to model our lives on.

However, like David said in the scripture below, I have discovered only one person, who has always upheld faithfully His promises to me, that being the Lord Jesus Christ. He has never disappointed me, although I’m sure I have Him many times. He knows all our weakness, that’s why He sent His Son to pay the price we couldn’t pay. John 3:16
We have been given so many promises from the Lord; He will never forsake us or leave us alone. Now that’s a promise we can depend on for eternity!

Psalms 37:23-25
The steps of a good man are ordered of the Lord; and he delights in his way.
Though he shall fall, he shall not be utterly cast down, for the Lord upholds him with His hand. I have been young, and now am old; yet I have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread.
Now that’s what I call true commitment and real security!


©Sue Shields 2004
www.sueshields.com

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