Ways To Give

Are You Trustworthy?

Written by Darren Hewer

“We have renounced secret and shameful ways; we do not use deception, nor do we distort the word of God. On the contrary, by setting forth the truth plainly we commend ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God.“ 2 Corinthians 4:2

When you make a promise, are people willing to take you at your word? Or do colleagues seem to insist on getting the simplest promises in writing?

Russell Bishop, an “Author, Executive Coach, and Performance Improvement Consultant” who by all appearances has no particular religious convictions, explores the topic of the importance of giving and keeping your word in a recent article in the Huffington Post:

For many people, the area of personal integrity has become more than blurred when considering what it means to make a commitment and give your word. Have you ever noticed how easily people can make a commitment and how much more easily they can go about breaking that commitment?

If you make an agreement with someone else, and then choose to break it, some part of you notices and keeps score. That goes something like: “agreement made, agreement broken.” “Another agreement made, another agreement broken.” And sooner or later this turns into, “even when I say I’m committed, it probably isn’t real.” And then you begin to lay the groundwork for “none of this is really matters anyway.”

I’m suggesting that you consider just how easy it might be to tell one “little white lie” today which then paves the way for another later on. Pretty soon, the person inside who notices and keeps score begins to say something akin to: “Breaking commitments? Speaking half truths? That’s just who I am. But I am a good person. No, really, I am.”

Is this a trap that can fall into? Not just regarding lying but also other sins. Christians recognize that we are sinners; but when we begin to identify ourselves by our sins (ex, “Lying is just part of who I am”) instead of relying on the Lord to be at work in our lives to transform our hearts and deeds, and trusting in His power to make subtle but life-altering changes, that can prevent us from

becoming the kind of people the Lord desires.

Can you identify the process Mr Bishop describes? How can we seek to break out of this trap?

Related reading:
Lies Women Believe: Truth … Or Consequences
When All Else Fails, Tell the Truth

Tags: committment, Culture, honor, promise, Self, spiritual growth, trust, trustworthy, World, your word

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