Yes Means Yes: Keeping Your Word
Next week, I'm going to continue the Studying the Bible series I started a few weeks ago (I still have a few more posts on it because it's so important), but this week I really felt impressed to share some thoughts that are more in line with the The Gravity of Words series I did a while back. This is a quick post, but I believe it is an important one. Near the beginning on Paul's second letter to the Corinthians (2 Corinthians 1:18-19) he says, "My yes means yes because Jesus Christ, the Son of God, never wavers between yes and no." I love how that is put in this version because it really says, "I identify myself with Jesus. What he does, I do."
Why are our words so important? For one, when we say we'll do something and don't do it, we can easily start to lose our sense of conviction. When we lose that, it is much more easy to not do something we said again. If we continue to not follow through, we are conditioning ourselves to give up easily and that can end up poisoning our ability to do anything well.
Why is our identity in Christ so important to our lives? Why can't we just love God from where we are in life? Remember that when we decide to put Jesus as Lord of our life, we are the walking messengers of God and we spread a message all the time, whether we like it or not. Thankfully, the Holy Spirit is our helper to monitor and we say. In the end, we should be joyful in saying, "My yes means yes because Jesus Christ, the Son of God, never wavers between yes and no."
However, there are some caveats to this. Sometimes, if we keep our promises, we can end up doing more damage than good. In that chapter, Paul does go on to explain that he actually was going to break his promise, but only because he loved the church of Corinth. He says, "The reason why I didn't return to Corinth was to spare you from a severe rebuke." Basically, Paul had found out about some things that the Corinthians had been doing and if he would have followed through on going there, he would have come down hard on them. I believe that he sent this letter instead to spare the Corinthians grief.
I said that last bit in order to keep you from being condemned if you couldn't follow through on something you said. When it comes down to it, it's all about heart. You should greatly desire to make good on your promises, and I challenge you today to start confessing that statement that Paul made over yourself. It will begin to change your habits and thoughts in a powerful way and you will begin to shine as an example of Christ.
Say it right now with me: "My yes means yes because Jesus Christ, the Son of God, never wavers between yes and no."
If you have any thoughts on this post, please feel free to comment below!