Should I keep my promises?
"When you make a promise to God, don’t wait too long to carry it out. He isn’t pleased with foolish people. So do what you have promised. It is not good to make a promise and not keep it. It is better to make no promise at all" (Ecclesiastes 5:4-5).
"All you need to say is simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No.’ Anything more than this comes from the evil one" (Matthew 5:37).
You should always keep your promises unless someone could be in danger.Sometimes our friends and siblings will ask us to keep a promise. It is good to keep our promises because we should always keep our word. The one exception to keeping promises is if someone is in danger. If a person is in danger or is going to hurt themselves, you are not required to keep the promise. Tell a parent or a trusted adult.
God makes many promises to us throughout the Bible (Genesis 9:8-17; Jeremiah 31:31-34; Psalm 9:9-10). Every promise that God has ever made, He has kept. There is not a single promise that God has broken. Just as God keeps His promises, we should keep our promises. If we break a promise, it can really hurt someone’s feelings.
When you are making a promise, you need to ask yourself a few questions:
•Is your promise made with the goal of hurting someone?
•Are you going to keep your promise?
•Are you going to be able to fulfill your promise?
•Are you talking with God about your promise?
•Does your promise make God happy?
By answering these questions, you will be able to know if you should make the promise or not. If you are making a promise that is related to hurting someone, you should not do it. God wants us to love all people and this cannot be done if we hurt others (Matthew 22:34-40). If you are not going to keep your promise or you can’t fulfill your promise, don’t make the promise.
If you are not talking with God about your promise and if your promise doesn’t make God happy, then you shouldn’t make or keep the promise either. Promises are supposed to be good things, but they can quickly become bad things if we let them. Choose only to make and keep promises that are holy, true, and right.
