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How do you feel about someone who makes a promise to you and doesn’t keep it? It doesn’t generate lots of good feelings toward that person on your part, does it?
Proverbs 13:12 says that “Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life.” And in Ecclesiastes 5:5 we read “It is better not to vow than to make a vow and not fulfill it.”
Many relationships suffer greatly because of broken promises and commitments. If you’ve made someone a promise, that builds hope in that person. He or she is hopeful that you will do what you’ve said you’d do. Now, if you fail to keep that promise without a good reason or explanation, then it does something to that person’s heart—to their feelings toward you. They’re disappointed, of course, but more than that, they feel betrayed because you didn’t remember or care enough to keep your promise. It’s a form of rejection when you think about it. Obviously, that doesn’t have to happen very often in a relationship before it takes a terrible toll.
Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived, tells us it’s much better not to promise anything at all than to make a promise and not keep it. Christians should be dependable people, always diligent in following through. And remember that Jesus said if we’re not faithful in the small things, we won’t be faithful in the large things either. So, we need to make sure that we are faithful and dependable from the smallest to the largest things in our lives. Can your friends and family members depend on you? Do you keep your promises?
If you find that you have a tendency to make commitments—even small ones—and not fulfill them, this could be one major reason for some of your relationship problems. Ask God to help you to be more careful in making those promises, and then to take them very seriously when you do. Believe me, it will make a noticeable difference in your relationships.