A Man's Word Is His Bond (Or Is It?)

From My Perspective - - -

A phrase attributed to Miguel de Cervantes is: "An honest man's word is as good as his bond." This was a standard in the early days of our nation. It continues as an innate readiness for many today. Somewhere along the way, Situational Ethics was introduced and accepted as a reasonable lifestyle, and the Philosophy that the end justifies the means was embraced. This is a very old phrase dating back and attributed to “The Greek playwright Sophocles who wrote in Electra (c 409 B.C.), 'The end excuses any evil,' a thought later rendered by the Roman poet Ovid as 'The result justifies the deed' in 'Heroides' (c. 10 B.C.)." [From "Wise Words and Wives' Tales: The Origins, Meanings and Time-Honored Wisdom of Proverbs and Folk Sayings Olde and New" by Stuart Flexner and Doris Flexner, Avon Books, New York, 1993].

If we fast-forward to our world today, how reliable is a man’s word? Can it be received and accepted as one saying what he means and meaning what he says? If a person swears to “tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth – so help me God!”, shouldn’t that mean that what is spoken will be precise, exact and honest? The following was publicly stated some time ago: “The way to make government responsible is to hold it accountable and the way to hold it accountable is to make it transparent so that the American people can know exactly what decisions are being made, how they are being made and whether their interests are being well-served. The directives I am giving my administration today on how to interpret the Freedom of Information Act will do just that. For a long time now, there has been too much secrecy in this city. The old rules said that if there was a defensible argument for not disclosing something to the American people, then it should not be disclosed. That era is now over. Starting today, every agency and department should know that this administration stands on the side not of those who seek to withhold information, but those who seek to make it known...the mere fact that you have the legal power to keep something secret doesn't mean you should always use it." These are the words of President Obama in 2009. However, The Associated Press has reported the following: “When President Obama took office, he famously aspired to be the leader in administrative transparency, but now he finds himself struggling to enforce it within his own government. In fiscal year 2009, 17 major governmental agencies refused to release information, claiming legal exemptions, 466,872 times, an increase of nearly 50 percent from the previous year…In 2008, the government refused 312,683 requests made under the Freedom of Information Act…”

Being President of anything is in and of itself daunting and challenging at the very least! That being said, keeping one’s word should be as natural as breathing! Ecclesiastes 5:1-6 (NLT) reminds one what is acceptable before and in the Presence of God. “As you enter the house of God, keep your ears open and your mouth shut! Don't be a fool who doesn't realize that mindless offerings to God are evil. And don't make rash promises to God, for he is in heaven, and you are only here on earth. So let your words be few. Just as being too busy gives you nightmares, being a fool makes you a blabbermouth. So when you make a promise to God, don't delay in following through, for God takes no pleasure in fools. Keep all the promises you make to him. It is better to say nothing than to promise something that you don't follow through on. In such cases, your mouth is making you sin. And don't defend yourself by telling the Temple messenger that the promise you made was a mistake. That would make God angry, and he might wipe out everything you have achieved.” When one places his/her hand on The Holy Bible, and takes an oath of office or to give witness to what is true - Integrity in Speech and a Factual representation should be the minimum expectation.

What is expected from others, should also be the behavior of us all. In I Corinthians 1:19-20 (NLT), we read: “As the Scriptures say, I will destroy human wisdom and discard their most brilliant ideas. So where does this leave the philosophers, the scholars, and the world's brilliant debaters? God has made them all look foolish and has shown their wisdom to be useless nonsense.” Jesus said (Matthew 5:37 – NLT): “Just say a simple, 'Yes, I will,' or 'No, I won't.' Your word is enough. To strengthen your promise with a vow shows that something is wrong.“ Can anyone - - everyone - - rely on your word? If not, why not? Consider these things with me!