Therefore, when we say “Yes” at the altar that we are going to take someone to be our spouse and to stand with them in sickness and in health, we should honour our word and not abandon them to face sickness or pain alone when they need us most. If we say “Yes” to them, we will be with them for richer and poorer, and we should honour our word and pool our resources together to weather through the rough times.
Once trust is broken, the road to earning the trust of our spouse, business partners and community is a long and painful one. If trust is broken between covenant marriage partners, it will take years to rebuild the trust. Yet, we are all guilty of being too loose with our words especially in making promises without thinking through whether we can deliver them.
If we have lost our credibility as a businessman, a business partner, or a spouse, we have lost the testimony of being the salt and light in a darkened and deteriorating world! Jesus is revealing how we should be different from the world, especially in our word and commitment.
Matthew 5:37a (NKJV) But let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No.’
What God is saying through this verse is that the righteous should mean what they say regardless of whether it is a “Yes” or a “No”. It will leave out all ambiguity and give no room for the devil to have a toehold in our lives. When we honour our words, it will develop trust and confidence with people whom we work, do business, and live our lives with.
So how can we develop trust with our words? It is good to be upfront, self-disclosing and maintain clarity in business plans or partnership agreements. Thereafter, this must be followed up by keeping all the promises stipulated in the agreements regardless of whether they are to our advantage. It is making good what we have promised and not making use of people. We should also be consistent in our action without twisting the agreements to suit us or to protect our interest, be fair and equitable with our dealings. This is loving our neighbours just as we love ourselves and doing unto to others as we want others to do unto ourselves.
Sermon Series: It Is More Precious Than Gold
做值得信赖的盐和光
马太福音 5:13 “你们是世上的盐。盐若失了味，怎能叫它再咸呢？以后无用，不过丢在外面，被人践踏了。
你会嫁给一个在追求你时神秘兮兮、不易懂、不委身、前后矛盾、一直不守诺言、不曾有真正的对话的人吗？当然不会！千万别以为他们婚前做不到，婚后你可以改变他们！
因此，当我们在坛上说“我愿意”让某人成为我们的配偶，无论疾病和健康都会与他们在一起的时候，我们应该信守我们的诺言，而不是在他们最需要我们的时候抛弃他们去独自面对疾病或痛苦。如果我们对他们说了“我愿意”，无论富裕或贫穷我们都会和他们在一起，我们都应信守诺言，集中我们的资源，一起共渡难关。
一旦信任被打破，重新获得配偶、商业伙伴和社群的信任的道路将是漫长而痛苦的。如果盟约婚姻伴侣之间的信任被打破，将需要多年的时间重新建立信任。然而，我们都常常说话太随便，尤其是没有思考我们是否能做得到就许下诺言。
如果我们失去了作为商人、商业伙伴或配偶的信誉，我们就失去了成为这黑暗和腐败的世界中的盐和光的见证！耶稣启示我们应该如何与世界不同，特别是在我们的话语和委身上。
马太福音 5:37a 你们的话，是，就说是；不是，就说不是；
神通过这节经文所说的是，义人应言出必行，不管是“是”还是“不是”。它将排除所有的模棱两可，也不会让魔鬼有机会在我们的生命中立足。当我们信守诺言时，它将在与我们同工、做生意和生活的人中建立信任和信心。
那么，我们如何用言语来建立信任呢？首先最好在商业计划或合作协议中坦率、自我披露和保持透明。此后，必须遵守协议中约定的所有承诺，无论它们是否对我们有利。它是兑现我们的承诺，而不是用来利用他人。我们也应该言行一致，不为了迎合自己或维护我们的利益而扭曲协议，在我们的交易中保持公平和公正。这就是爱邻舍如同自己，愿意人怎样待我们，我们也要怎样待人。
讲章系列：比黄金更宝贵