Meaning what we say

As a society, we don't keep our commitments any more.

We give to church, as long as money as extra money is flowing into our bank accounts.  We play on the team as long as our playing time is equal to or greater than the other players.  We play in the band as long as it's fun. 

Worse yet, here are some startling statistics:

Marriage commitments aren't as strong.  Couples living together has skyrocketed from 430,000 in 1960 to 5.4 million in 2005.  Eight out of 10 couples who live together will break-up before getting married or will end up getting divorced.  Couples who live together have a 50% higher rate of divorce than couples who do not. 

We stay pure until we feel left out or pressured or prude, then we go back on our word.  One study of True Love Waits found that only 12 percent of teenagers actually keep their promise of abstinence until marriage.

Too often today we just don't mean what we say.  We don't want to offend anyone with our words.  We're afraid to say what's right because someone might be upset.  We'd rather say something acceptable and not mean it, then something meaningful we have to stand by.

We see it in all avenues of life.  Sports, entertainment, relationships - all our affected by our lack of commitment and honesty.  We'd rather lie than hurt someone else's feelings.  We'd rather be happy than sticking out a difficult commitment.

Jesus says that kind of talk and lackluster committal comes straight from the devil.

"Let your yes be yes and your no be no.  Anything more than these is from the evil one." Matthew 5:37.

Jesus warned his followers not to take rash oaths.  He instructed them to be trustworthy and honest - to keep their words and their vows.  Somehow, in the past 2,000 years, we've missed those teachings.

I've seen too many ministers (pastors, youth pastors and other staff) who are required to make a minimum commitment to stay at a church only for the church to dump them after only a few months on the job when the wrong family gets mad.  I've seen too many marriages end in divorce because situations became difficult due to health or finances or both.  I've seen too many scholarship athletes bail on their college commitment because playing sports at the collegiate level is harder than high school.

We must be honest - in our words, our actions and especially our commitments.  Anything else is from the evil one.

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