Proverbs 25:14 People who promise things that they never give are like clouds and wind that bring no rain.

Honesty. It's more than just not telling a lie, it's also keeping your word. If someone says they'll doing something or give something, they should make every effort to follow through on their promise. If for some reason they are not able to keep their promise, then they should let the other person know just as soon as they become aware that they cannot follow through on the promise.

Unfortunately this is not the way most people are. How many times have we heard someone say, “I'll call you,” “let's get together soon,” or even offer a gift of some sort without any intention of following through? It is an accepted practice to make such statements without meaning any of it. Even the person being told such things usually doesn't believe it. But just because it's accepted, doesn't make it right. As my mother always said to me, “If everyone was jumping off a cliff, would you jump off too?”

I have a friend who has been hurt multiple times by people making promises they don't mean. He takes everyone at face value. He believes what he is being told and then when he responds by calling the person, or trying to get together with them again. They usually pull away from him or become rude, and he's left wondering why. My friend doesn't think like most people. When he says he will do something, you can be sure he will do it. If he offers to give something, he will give it. He's honest. His word means something.

A business man was going through some difficulties in his company partly due to the fact that several other companies owed him a lot of money, but they kept putting him off when he tried to collect from them. He told me that the way of the business world is to order materials needed to keep their company running but then to keep putting off paying the debts. Not paying debts has become an accepted practice all over, but it is wrong. It is dishonest. When a person signs a paper saying they will pay for a product or service, then they are making a promise and they need to keep their promise.

While we're busy making promises, we're also never to swear an oath. Nor should we make a big show of our promises. We're to just simply say yes or no. The instructions for that is found in Matthew 5:33-37.

“You have heard that it was said to your ancestors, 'Never break your oath, but give to the Lord what you swore in an oath to give him.' But I tell you don't swear an oath at all. Don't swear an oath by heaven, which is God's throne, or by the earth, which is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, which is the city of the great King. And don't swear an oath by your head. After all, you cannot make one hair black or white. Simply say yes or no. Anything more than that comes from the evil one.”

Keep it simple and always follow through.