Why should we keep our promises? CQ Kids

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Why should we keep our promises?

To make a promise is to say that we’ll do something, like, “I promise to finish my homework tonight,” or NOT do something, like, “I promise I won’t play video games before I finish my homework.” Either way, our actions should match what we say.

People who do what they say are reliable. We can count on them because we trust that their words are true. Isn’t it nice when our friend says they’ll help us study for a test and then they actually help us? Now imagine how you would feel if your friend said they’d help you but then didn’t! It’s not a very nice feeling, is it?

Let’s use God and Jesus as our perfect examples of keeping promises.

God is the ultimate promise keeper. When He makes promises, He always keeps them. For example, in the book of Ezekiel, (see 36:24) God promised that the people of Israel, once scattered from their homeland, would return to the land He gave them. After thousands of years, in recent decades, millions of Jewish people have returned to the nation of Israel. We look forward to more of God's promises being fulfilled in the future since God's promises always come true! In Isaiah, we read about what He says: “...my word…will not return to Me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.” (Isaiah 55:11, NIV)

Jesus was committed to doing God’s will no matter what. Jesus taught us the principles of keeping our word, as some people do and some do not. In the book of Matthew, he scolded the Pharisees: “A tree is identified by its fruit. If a tree is good, its fruit will be good. If a tree is bad, its fruit will be bad…How could evil men like you speak what is good and right? For whatever is in your heart determines what you say.” (Matthew 12:33,34 NLT)

Let’s imagine ourselves as a tree. Does our tree produce bad fruit by speaking bad or untrue words? Or does our tree produce good fruit as we speak good and true words?

Continuing in Matthew, Jesus also said, “The good man brings good things out of his good store of treasure, and the evil man brings evil things out of his evil store of treasure.” (Matthew 12:35 Berean Standard Bible)

If we say we are doing our best to follow Jesus, yet make promises that we don’t keep, we are bringing out bad treasure!

So, why should we keep our promises? Because we love and trust God and Jesus, so we put them first. We want to do the right thing by following their excellent examples. Others will also know we’re trustworthy and reliable - they can count on us! To have a high quality of character, we have to follow through on our promises by doing what we say we’ll do.

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