Day 26 — A Man of His Word

“Simply let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No.’ Anything more comes from the evil one.”

— Matthew 5:37 (BSB)

“I promise!” “I swear!” “Pinky promise!” “Cross my heart!”

Why do people say things like that? Usually, it’s because they want someone to believe them. But have you noticed that the people who swear and promise the most are often the ones you trust the least?

In Jesus’ day, people had all kinds of rules about promises. If you swore by one thing, you had to keep your promise. But if you swore by something else, some people thought you could get out of it! People used tricky wording so they could break their word and still claim they weren’t lying.

Jesus said, Stop all that. “Simply let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No.’” In other words, be a man of your word. Mean what you say. Do what you say you’ll do. You shouldn’t need to swear or make big promises for people to trust you. Your simple “yes” should be enough.

A man of his word:

• Keeps his promises, even when something better comes along.
• Shows up when he says he will.
• Tells the truth, even when it’s embarrassing.
• Doesn’t exaggerate to make himself look better.
• Says no when he means no, instead of saying yes and then not following through.
• Admits it when he can’t keep a promise, instead of making excuses.

Why does this matter so much? Because trust is hard to build and easy to break. If you tell your friend you’ll be at his game and then don’t show up, or tell your mom you’ll clean your room and then don’t, people start to learn that your word doesn’t mean much.

But if you’re a guy whose “yes” means yes, people will trust you. Your parents will give you more freedom. Your friends will count on you. And you’ll reflect God, who has never once broken His word.

Think before you say yes. Don’t make promises you can’t keep. And when you say yes, follow through.

Think about it: Is your “yes” always “yes”? Is there a promise you’ve made recently that you haven’t kept?

Try this: If there’s a promise you haven’t kept, go and keep it today. Or apologize and make it right.

Dear God, You always keep Your word. Help me be a man of my word too. Help my “yes” mean yes and my “no” mean no. Help me keep my promises and tell the truth, so people can trust me. In Jesus’ name, Amen.