We have to be careful in all the areas of our lives not to make more promises than we can keep. We have a tendency to not ever tell anyone no and then become frustrated when we can’t do it all. There would be much less stress in our lives if we learn the power of no. Once we gain that power over our lives we need to keep our word. Sometimes it is a pain to keep your word, but God says in the Old Testament that the godly person is willing to promise something that hurts and keeping it anyway, Psalm 15:4.
Just yesterday I promised my son that if he did well on his schoolwork for the day and did his other chores then I would play Nerf gun battle with him before bed. The problem was that even though he did above and beyond on his part to be able to have that reward, I hit one problem after another one all day long. Murphy met me every step of the way. Everything took longer than it should have. I didn’t get to do all that I wanted to do and had some emergencies come up as well that had to be dealt with.
So, at 10 PM last night after we were done with Bible time and the kids were in their pj’s with their teeth brushed, I found myself keeping that promise an hour after the kids probably should have been in bed. It is frustrating and after a long tiring day it might not have been what I would have chosen to do, but it is important to me to do what I told my kids I would do. I have seen too many kids crushed and eventually completely jaded by promises of a future good thing that never happens. Eventually, these children may grow up to become adults who don’t believe the promises God makes because they never could trust the promises their parents made. Those children will also often grow up to be parents who make empty threats and promises. If you don’t want your children to go down that road, now is the time to show them your integrity. Don’t put it off.