Your Word

Numbers 30:2

If a man vow a vow unto the LORD, or swear an oath to bind his soul with a bond; he shall not break his word, he shall do according to all that proceedeth out of his mouth.

Your word is your testimony, and breaking your word one time could mar your testimony for life. This is why it is critical that every person is a person of their word. Once you say you will do something, you must do everything in your power to make it happen.

Your word matters to God. God says, If a man vow a vow unto the LORD, or swear an oath to bind his soul with a bond; he shall not break his word…. God holds you accountable to your word because it matters to Him. I wonder how many people have flippantly promised God they would do something and then broke their promise to Him. Once you make a promise to God, he expects you to do according to all that proceedeth out of your mouth. You can say you did most of what you promised, but God holds you accountable for all that you have promised. Let me share several thoughts about treating your word importantly.

First, your word is the credit report of your testimony. Imagine if there was a word agency like a credit agency where we could see if your word is good; what would we find your word to be? Every time you say you will do something, you have put your testimony on the line, and your testimony is to represent Christ Who is a God of His Word. To be careless about keeping your word is to be careless with your testimony. The problem with a testimony is that you only have one testimony, and once it is ruined, it will be hard to rebuild.

Second, your word determines if you are trustworthy. People will choose whether to trust you by how you keep your word, and you will minimize your ability to influence others if you are not a person of your word. However, if you build your trustworthiness by keeping your word, your reputation will help you to influence many lives.

Third, your word should be characterized by honesty. We live in times when people have no problem with being dishonest for the sake of not hurting someone’s feelings. My friend, it is better to be honest and hurt someone’s feelings than to be dishonest and lose the trust of people because of lies. Lying always catches up to you. You may think you have everyone fooled, and you may for the moment, but lying has a way of coming back to hurting you greatly. Numbers 32:23 guarantees: be sure your sin will find you out. Dishonesty eventually comes out, and when it does, it will not matter how much credibility you have built over the years; the dishonesty will destroy it all in a moment. You must be honest with all you do. Honesty is more than the best policy; it is the only right policy by which you should live because your name depends on it.

Let this short challenge be a great caution with your word. Always be careful with what you promise people that you will do. If you say you will do something, do it. If lying doesn't bother you, you better prepare for a life of hurt because people will not take kindly to you when they find out you have lied to them. The ministry should be a place where honesty is not just expected, but it is lived. Every believer is to be in the ministry; therefore, every believer should live a life of honesty because their lives reflect on Christ to the world, and if you are dishonest, nobody will want anything to do with being saved.