Deuteronomy 23

"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.

(Deu 23:21-23)

We should never make a promise we don’t intend to keep. No matter how inconvenient, or what the personal cost may be, we need to be men and women who keep their word; men and women who’s yes means yes and no means no. Some salesmen practice the opposite of this. They say whatever it takes to close the deal, and if it isn’t in writing they’ll act like they never said it.

This happened to a couple in our church when they bought a new car. The salesman promised them some things that weren’t in writing, and when they wanted to take advantage of those things, he acted like he didn’t know what they were talking about. At one point Noel and I were at the dealership with the woman, and the one sales representative basically said, “we can’t do that for anyone, if someone here says something you better get it in writing”. It was convenient for them to make the promise because it got them the sale, it was inconvenient for them to keep the promise so they just ignored it.

We are told here as the people of God that, “that which has gone from your lips you shall keep and perform”. Not just what is convenient, but EVERY PROMISE WE MAKE. In Psalm 15:4 we are told that the man that dwells in the Lord’s presence “swears to his own hurt and changes not”. The Lord would have us be men and women of our word. A promise is a promise. Don’t tarnish the reputation of the Lord by making promises you don’t intend to keep!