"But let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No.’ For whatever is more than these is from the evil one." -Matthew 5:37 NKJV

In 2019, Marcus Morris made a verbal commitment to the San Antonio Spurs to join the team but ultimately signed with the New York Knicks. Four years earlier, during the summer of 2015, DeAndre Jordan verbally committed to join the Dallas Mavericks but ultimately decided to re-sign with the Los Angeles Clippers.

The purpose of this example is not to condemn Morris or Jordan. It is to simply help us, especially as Christians, to understand the importance of keeping our word and avoid making promises that we can’t keep.

Perhaps there have been times when you made a promise to attend an event or provide a service to someone but there was truly a change of plans. But there have also been times when we make promises to do something but knew in the first place that we weren’t going to do it. Sometimes in this situation, people say that they are going to “pray about it,” but that is their way of avoiding the commitment instead of politely saying “no” (some really do pray about it). We are supposed to “seek God in all of our ways and He will direct our paths” as Proverbs 3:5-6 says. If we tell someone that we are going to pray about a certain situation then we must truly pray about it. It is imperative that we don’t make a mockery out of God by saying that we are going to pray about something that we truly weren’t going to pray about in the first place.

It is so important for us to always walk with integrity. If we don’t know what to do so or say—especially as it pertains to making decisions—we should definitely ask God for clarity and He will lead us and help us with what to say or do. God wants to be a part of every aspect of our lives. Remember, people are always watching the way that we as Christians live. Therefore, we must be an example of Jesus Christ everywhere we go. Keeping our promises is one way to do so.