It’s All You’ve Got

 When you say you are going to do something, do you ever think twice about the reply that you give?  Do you flippantly say “oh sure”, when you don’t intent to do it at all, or do you say “I can do that” but don’t make the effort that is needed to even write it down or remember it later so you can actually follow-up on what you agreed to do?

 When we say we are going to do something, the Bible is clear that we are to follow through with what we say.  How we actually follow through on what we agree to is critical to who we are and what we are becoming.  It is a cornerstone of what a Real Christian Businessman should be; who he is; how he is to act. 

“Simply let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.”  Matthew 5:37 (NIV84)

 This application is first critical in business, because it allows your co-workers, employees, manager, and customers to know that you are going to do what you say.  How many people who you work with, deal with, manage, or have as customers say one thing to you and then never follow-up with it in the end?  I know we all have experienced this at one time or another, and oh how frustrating it is! 

This application is even MORE critical in your personal life, because what we tell our friends – and especially what we tell our family – should match up to exactly what we end up doing.  Our children watch what we DO related to what we say more so than anything else.  For their sake especially we must be a good example.

 What about that person that you run across that actually DOES do everything they say they are going to do?  Do you enjoy being around them?  Do you enjoy working with them? Do you remember your last interaction with them?  These types of people usually stick out, because there really isn’t that many people who actually act this way at all. 

 I personally have taken this verse to be one of the foundations of who I am.  It hasn’t always been easy.  It does mean that I always have to be careful as to what I say, but is that such a bad thing?  Once you get into the HABIT of doing what you say, I can verify that it actually does become very easy to do – and it actually makes your life less complicated in the end and it makes your relationships with others even more rewarding!

 My challenge to you today is to think about when you say “yes” to people, because in reality your word is actually all that you’ve got in the end.