“Yes” or “No”— it matters a lot. 2 Corinthians 1.15-18

Can you imagine questioning Paul’s character? Now I don’t mean even from our perspective and all we know about this man…but as a contemporary of his—Paul, who had been personally
confronted by Jesus Christ on the road to Damascus, and radically transformed from Christian-hater to a Christian himself. Paul
who was the first missionary, going into Mediterranean lands to spread
the gospel and start churches . . . who underwent beatings and
imprisonment, but stayed true to his mission.

These Corinthians had spent a year and a half with him, and yet they are questioning his character, questioning his judgment. No matter . . . Paul lets them know that though his travel plans had to be altered, his character was true—his ‘yes’ was ‘yes’ and his ‘no’, ‘no’.

Messenger and message -- Paul knows that the trustworthiness of the messenger affects the message. He writes, “Since I was so sure of your understanding and trust, I wanted to give you a double blessing by visiting you twice— first on my way to
Macedonia and again when I returned from Macedonia. Then you could send me on my way to Judea.

You may be asking why I changed my plan. Do you think I make my plans carelessly? Do you think I am like people of the world who say “Yes”
when they really mean “No”? As surely as God is faithful, my word to you does not waver between “Yes” and “No.” From the New Living Translation, 2 Corinthians 1.15-18

Ah, yes—the importance of integrity. In this case, the importance of keeping your word. Credibility. Whatever happened to ‘gentleman’s honor’? Your word was your bond. I’m not sure, but for the most part, it has vanished. Do you DO what you SAY you are going to do? If not, then you are just uttering idle words—and don’t forget what Jesus said about idle words: And I tell you this, on the judgment day, you
will be held accountable for every idle word you speak. For by your words you will be judged, and by your words, you will be acquitted.* Yikes!

A Mafioso was quoted as saying, “keeping your word in my world is a given unless you want to be sleeping with the fishes.” Do you keep your word?

When you say you will do something, you are giving your word—whether at home, in business, or with your friends.

How many times has your little daughter looked up at you and said, “But, Daaaad, you saaaaid…” Children don’t forget that you promised to take them down to the field to hit some baseballs after work…no matter that you are now worn out, you said
you would go. What have you promised in your desire to buy some ‘quiet’, and then failed to deliver?

You are the area sales representative for a large company, and you finally have a meeting with a big account . . . ‘Can you deliver this
product to my jobsite when I need it?’ he grills you. Feeling the sale is within your grasp, you say, ‘I’m certain of it.... Mr. Sullivan, you won’t be sorry.’ You
drive away, contract in hand, because in business, a gentleman’s
handshake is long gone, and then you realize that your promise is only
as good as your company’s ability to deliver. Integrity—there it is again—can you count on your boss to do what he said he would do? Does he or she follow through? Is there a culture of integrity? Is there a climate and expectation of honesty at your company? Hmmm . . .

“I’ll be there by 11:00,” he says, hanging up the phone. But his friend knows he is always late; usually it doesn’t matter so much, but she doesn’t want to be in that neighborhood alone—so will he or
won’t he be there at 11:00?

I know that I need to be more careful with my words in general, but especially with giving my word. Being more careful means thinking before I speak. Before I say I will do something, go somewhere, deliver a good, I need to stop and think,
because whether or not I am deemed trustworthy is fundamentally
connected to keeping my word. And then, “let my words be few,” as the writer of Ecclesiastes said—just don’t talk as much!

The first step in keeping your word is stopping to think, and then proceeding with care. Commit to only what you are able . . . write down what you have committed to do or enter it into your i-phone, so that forgetfulness is not a factor. If a decision need be changed, explain it; correct the original supposition. Let your ‘yes’ be ‘yes’ and your ‘no’ be ‘no’. It matters . . . a lot!

Christine

*Matthew 12.36-37