Keeping this commitment was costly. But I’m glad I did…

“Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not break your oath, but fulfill to the Lord the vows you have made.’ But I tell you, do not swear an oath at all: either by heaven, for it is God’s throne; or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King. And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black. All you need to say is simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.” (Matthew 5:33-37)

In Psalm 15, David says that the “righteous” person “keeps an oath even when it hurts.” That’s essentially what Jesus is teaching in today’s passage.

I love how the NKJV renders Matthew 5:37: “let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No.’” Jesus did not say, “let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes’ so long as it still works with your schedule.” He said, “let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes’”—period. Full stop.

And Jesus isn’t asking us to do anything God himself hasn’t already done. In Genesis 3:15, God promised to send a Redeemer. And his yes was yes—even when it cost him the ultimate hurt of watching his perfect Son die on a Roman cross.

With God’s perfect faithfulness and Jesus’s command in mind, let me suggest three practical responses to today’s passage.

#1: Ask a friend to hold you accountable to a commitment you’re tempted to renege on. A few weeks ago, my team and I changed our criteria for which events I would agree to speak at, which left a bunch of events on my calendar that no longer met the new criteria. I immediately started to justify “renegotiating” these commitments—until the Holy Spirit reminded me of today’s passage. If you’re tempted as I was to renege on a commitment, send a text to a friend or co-worker asking for accountability.

#2: Memorize a phrase to buy yourself time before you make commitments you regret. Proverbs 20:25 says, “It is a trap to dedicate something rashly and only later to consider one’s vows.” But you and I dedicate things rashly all the time. Here’s how I’m solving this. Anytime someone asks me to say “yes” to something live, I say, “Can you text or email me all the details?” And that almost always buys me time to carefully consider the opportunity before I say, “yes.” 

Memorize one of these phrases to test the next time someone asks you for a quick yes you’ll later regret:

• “Can you text me all the details?”
• “Can I get back to you tomorrow?”
• “I’ve got a rule not to say yes or no to anything on the spot. Mind if I take some time to consider this?”

#3: Build a Commitment Tracking System to ensure your yes is yes 999 out of 1,000 times. I’ve helped thousands of readers do just that in my book, Redeeming Your Time. Check out Chapter 2 if your yes is not yes that frequently.

These three practices are working for me. Do whatever you need to do to ensure your yes is yes in the model of your Redeemer today.