How Good Is Your Word?

There are a couple of important sayings that have gone by the wayside in recent years. One is: “A man’s word is his bond.” A little better known is the proverb, “A man is only as good as his word.” Both statements have pretty much the same meaning: “If you say you are going to do something, you do it.”

It seems, at the present moment in American history, how a person says something is more important than if he/she actually does what they say they will do. A current example of this is a New York City mayoral candidate who continually promises voters that he will stop sending naked pictures of himself electronically to women who aren’t his wife. On camera this gentleman is very sincere and emphatic that he has broken this inconvenient habit, but then some time passes and it is revealed he is up to his old tricks again.

The “say one thing but do another” syndrome is so prevalent that we are hesitant to talk about it because it has become a way of life for most. On a daily basis people make passionate promises which soon after they either forget or decide are too difficult to keep. The most tragic is the promise, “Till death do us part.” It is rare not to see at least a tear in the eye of the bride and groom as they make their wedding vows to each other. And yet, a few years later those solemn promises are set aside as either impractical or unrealistic. We have gotten to the point that it is acceptable if we mean what we say at the moment, however, if we change our minds in the future, then the promises of the past are cancelled out.

Our worship services this Saturday evening (6:00 pm) and Sunday morning (10:00 am) will involve the commitments of baptism and confirmation during which young people will commit their lives to serving Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord. There will be emotional and inspirational moments during these services. But as important as what is said this weekend is the day to day living in the coming years of these young people. Such special services serve an important role in our own spiritual lives. As we watch other confess their faith in Christ, we should be asking ourselves the searching question, “Have I been a Christian man/woman of my word?

The Moment of Truth

“The moment of truth.” Just saying that phrase is dramatic, isn’t it? A glance at several dictionaries shows that the original meaning of this phrase refers to “the moment in a bullfight at which the matador is about to make the kill”. Picture the scene in your mind. The huge bull, with spears hanging from its neck, makes one last charge at the exhausted matador.

The young man, his gold encrusted outfit stained with bull’s blood waits, sword poised for the last mortal thrust. All eyes in the stadium are fixed on man and beast. It is a matter of life and death. But who will live? Who will die? Such a scene truly is “the moment of truth”.

In everyday language the term “moment of truth” has taken on the meaning of “a moment or crisis on whose outcome much or everything depends.” Think of some of the “moments of truth” in American history: the decision to write the Declaration of Independence, the battle of Gettysburg, the assassination of President Lincoln, the invasion of Normandy on D-Day. The outcomes and implications of each one of those events was uncertain and had they turned out differently, the United States might well be a much different country than it is today.

From a biblical way of looking at things, the moment of truth in the life of every human being is that moment when we understand who Jesus Christ is and what he did for us. But that is not where it ends. What defines the moment of truth is what we do with Jesus. Do we put our faith in him or walk away? That is THE moment of truth because our reaction determines our eternal future.
This Saturday evening (6:00 pm) and Sunday morning (10:00 am) we’ll meet two men who came face to face with Jesus Christ. In their moment of truth one got upset and walked away, the other thought for a moment and then blinked.

Have you had your “moment of truth”?