day 2993: Promises! Promises!

“It is better to say nothing than to make a promise and not keep it.”

I’d guess that if we each think about it for a moment we could give at least one example of a recent promise that has been made to us that was not delivered upon.  It might have been the time of an appointment for work to be done that the person was either late or never showed, it could be the return of an email or phone call that was promised, or the delivery that was promised on a date only to be late with no explanation.  Whatever the reasons, promises made are not promises kept in way too many cases.  And because of this, when someone or a company does make a promise and keeps it and then consistently does so in the future, they stand out.  It’s not that hard.  Just keep the promise…

…or don’t make them at all.  That is what we are being taught in Ecclesiastes.  I’ve always felt that there are many things in life that are better not said or started if they can’t be lived up to or finished.  We may be asked to make a commitment or promise today.  Let’s pause and think hard on our response so we don’t make a promise we can’t keep.

Reference:  Ecclesiastes 5:5 (New Living Translation)