promises

No Promises

/ JJS / Leave a comment

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Today’s readings (click below to open in new tab/window):
Psalms 108; 150, 1 Samuel 14:36-45, Romans 5:1-11, Matthew 22:1-14

“I meant what I said and I said what I meant. An elephant’s faithful one-hundred percent!”
– Dr. Seuss, Horton Hatches the Egg

Several Biblical characters suffer the consequences of an unwise – and unsolicited – oath to God. Saul dedicated his troops by offering an oath that cursed any of them who ate before evening fell and their enemy was vanquished. Saul’s son Jonathan didn’t know about the oath and ate a bite of honey from the ground. As a result, God withdrew from Saul for a time. Unaware of the all the facts, Saul said he would kill whoever had sinned – even if it was his own son.

Once the truth came out, Saul and Jonathan were willing to accept the consequences, but the people spoke up on Jonathan’s behalf and said his victories were proof God was with him. They ransomed Jonathan (possibly by substituting some sort of animal sacrifice) and “he did not die.”

In the heat of battle – military, political, or personal – leaders can make rash promises, often in the absence of facts, to attain victory. We’re not just talking government, but also business, church, and even family. When that happens, clean-up duty falls to the rest of us. Like the Israelites, we have to decide whether to be hardliners who insist the promise be kept or to allow for alternatives. If we supported the promise, we may be tempted to take the hard line out of pride or spite. Frequently our decision is swayed when we hear the story of someone we care for who will be personally affected, like the Jonathan to our Israel.

We don’t have to be leaders to make rash promises. When we do, we are cornered into choosing between keeping our word and doing the right thing, and it feels wrong to sacrifice either. Jesus and James advise us to avoid swearing oaths in the first place. Why create unnecessary potential for letting down others, ourselves, or God?

God knows our hearts and our weaknesses. It’s enough to lay them down at the cross and humbly commit to doing our best.

Additional Reading:
For more about today’s passage from Romans, see Endurance Training.
For thoughts on today’s parable from Matthew, see Come to the Banquet.

Comfort: Let your yes mean yes, and your no mean no.

Challenge: Pay attention to the promises people make you. Ask yourself if they seem realistic – or necessary.

Prayer: Let everything that breathes praise The LORD. Praise The LORD! (Psalm 150:6)

Discussion: Have you ever suffered the consequences of a poorly made promise?

Join the discussion! If you enjoyed this post, feel free to join an extended discussion as part of the C+C Facebook group. You’ll be notified of new posts through FB, and have the opportunity to share your thoughts with some lovely people. Or feel free to comment here on WordPress, or even re-blog – the more the merrier!

Vaporware

/ JJS / Leave a comment

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Today’s readings (click below to open in new tab/window):
Psalms 98; 146, Daniel 2:1-16, 1 John 2:1-11, John 17:12-19

When a person or company sells software or another intangible product that isn’t complete (or perhaps doesn’t exist at all yet), that product is called “vaporware.” It’s not always an intentional deception; sales people are often genuinely optimistic the product will be ready by the delivery date. Unfortunately they can also be genuinely wrong.

King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon was too smart to fall for what may have been one of the world’s earliest vaporware scams. He summoned wise men – magicians, sorcerers, and astrologers (stereotyped as Chaldeans) – to interpret his disturbing dream. He wanted them to first tell him what the dream was, as proof of their abilities. The astrologers stepped up and promised to interpret the dream if only the king told them about it first. This angered the king because he knew they were intentionally misleading him and could not interpret. He decreed to reward them if they told the dream and interpreted it, but to execute them and destroy their houses otherwise. The astrologers protested no one could possibly do what the king asked (despite having promised it minutes before) and it made him so furious he ordered the execution of all the “wise men” in the land.

When we promise more than we can deliver, we risk more than our reputation; we gamble with the well-being of others. Businesses, lives, and relationships can be ruined. We may not be getting our peers executed, but claiming overblown profits and capabilities, selling snake oil to the desperately ill, or reneging on personal commitments leaves other to pick up the pieces of inconvenience and even disaster.

Let’s be honest with ourselves and others about the limits of our time and ability. In business and life it’s much better to under-promise and over-deliver than vice versa. The world won’t always cooperate: bosses will want it faster and friends will want more. If saying “yes” now only delays an inevitable disappointment … say “no.” In the long run you’ll both respect you more.

Remember that we represent more than just our own brand, but Christ’s “brand” as well. Walk in your integrity.

Comfort: It’s okay to say no when you need to.

Challenge: Consider your current commitments. Can you keep all of them? If not, responsibly decline the ones you can’t before it’s too late.

Prayer: Thank you, God, for the time and talents you have given me. Teach me to use them well. Amen.

Discussion: How do you feel when you let someone down? When someone lets you down?

Join the discussion! If you enjoyed this post, feel free to join an extended discussion as part of the C+C Facebook group , visit comfortandchallenge.tumblr.com, or follow @comf_and_chall on Twitter. You’ll  have the opportunity to share your thoughts with some lovely people. Or feel free to comment here on WordPress, or even re-blog – the more the merrier!

Promises, Promises

/ JJS / Leave a comment

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Today’s readings (click below to open in new tab/window):
Psalms 103; 150, Judges 11:1-11, 29-40, 2 Corinthians 11:21b-31, Mark 4:35-41

Poor Jephthah. Or more correctly, poor Jephthah’s nameless daughter. He vowed to the Lord:

“If you give the Ammonites into my hands, whatever comes out of the door of my house to meet me when I return in triumph from the Ammonites will be the Lord’s, and I will sacrifice it as a burnt offering.”

His daughter was the first one through the door.

Jephthah, though devastated, followed through on his vow. Is it a sort of poetic justice that his willingness to make a random sacrifice – possibly an innocent – sealed his daughter’s fate?

This might seem like a story where God is inexplicably cruel, but God never asked Jephthah for a sacrifice. He made his vow to curry favor from the Lord, but since the Lord didn’t respond neither Jephthah nor we can know whether it had any influence on the victory.

Have we ever made rash bargains with the Lord? Maybe something along the lines of: “If I get this promotion, I promise to give half my raise to the church,” or “If I get well, I’ll exercise every day.” The human race as a whole has a poor track record on following through with promises made in the heat of the moment. Unlike Jephthah, we should not resort to bargaining, but should be confident the spirit of the Lord is with us in all situations, regardless of our promises or eventual outcomes. We take vows to God seriously not to avoid God’s wrath, but because broken promises damage any relationship. Vows should never be taken lightly or impulsively – if at all. In Matthew, Jesus warns us about swearing oaths by heaven or by the earth.

Despite the outcome of Jephthath’s story, God isn’t some evil genie or monkey’s paw waiting to twist our own wishes against us. Nor does God’s grace hinge on the appropriate grand gesture or sacrifice. Rather, like a good parent, God allows the consequences of our actions to instruct us. If we are to be good children, we will mind our lessons, and be careful not to make promises we can’t keep.

Comfort: God doesn’t require our promises, but our faith.

Challenge: Reflect on a promise you have broken. How did it make you feel?

Prayer: God of hope, tend my confidence in you so it will grow. Amen.

Discussion: Some commentaries make a strong case that this story is more correctly interpreted as Jephthah consecrating his daughter as a lifelong virgin to the Lord. Does this change your feelings about the story?

Join the discussion! If you enjoyed this post, feel free to join an extended discussion as part of the C+C Facebook group. You’ll be notified of new posts through FB, and have the opportunity to share your thoughts with some lovely people. Or feel free to comment here on WordPress, or even re-blog – the more the merrier!