March 25, 1999
A Promise Is…
In order to keep promises we must first have a clear idea in our mind what a promise is. Many people lump all statements of intent together as promises and as such put themselves in an impossible situation if they seek to keep them all.
A loose statement of intent is not a promise because it is not taken by the giver or receiver as a binding statement. Instead, it is just a statement of an act that you intend to fulfill. An example of such a statement of intent is something like this:
Wife: “Honey! Will you pick up a dozen eggs on the way home?” Husband: “OK.”
Now what happens if the husband just forgets to get the eggs? Has he broken a promise? I say no. Why? This is because the husband merely made a loose declaration of intent that was not taken as a solemn promise by his wife. She may be irritated if he forgets the eggs, but she will not feel betrayed.
Does this mean that we can be lax on our declarations of intent? No. We should seek to fulfill all such declarations if possible, but it is not the end of the world if we slip here now and then. Because there is no sense of betrayal the interference with soul contact will be small.
Before worrying about perfecting ourselves with the fulfillment of our declarations of intent we must first work with our promises and control circumstances as well as self so that we can keep all of them.
What is a promise? It is more than a declaration of intent. Instead it is a declaration of what you WILL do. A broken promise is serious because it is a breaking of the will, your will. You have willed to do a thing and your will was broken by the only person who can break it, yourself.
Now let’s turn the dozen eggs thing into a promise.
Wife: “Honey! Will you pick up a dozen eggs on the way home?” Husband: “OK” Wife: “That’s what you said yesterday, but tonight I have to have them for company. Can you be sure and get them on the way home?” Husband: “I’ll be sure and remember this time.”
This is not the most serious commitment in the world but the wife takes it seriously enough that there would be some feeling of betrayal if the guy does not bring home the eggs. Not keeping his word here can create some soul interference. If a person truly forgets an item that he gave his word on he should then do everything in his power to fulfill it as soon as the memory is recalled. In the case of the husband, if he forgets the eggs, but remembers as he pulls up in the driveway, the best thing to do is backtrack to the nearest store and fulfill his pledge.
It is most important that when we make a commitment and we are aware of such commitment, that we do all in our power to be true to our word. If we do this consistently then our vibration moves in harmony with the vibration of Spirit, which is truth, and the door to soul contact opens wide.
Dave writes: “I have a question that might provoke some thought, though. Now that we know all of this, what should we do if we’ve already inadvertently made a vow (marriage or otherwise) that we now realize we cannot keep?”
I answered this somewhat yesterday. Let me repeat my words: “So what then should we do if we have made some promise, such as the marriage vows, but now realize that we made a mistake and it seems best that we get out of the deal?
“This is a no win situation, but the best thing to do is access your damages and move on with a determination to never allow your word to get in such a trap again.
“This is a little like the guy who buys a car and doesn’t think to get insurance then has a wreck. Once you are in this situation you have to realize that there is no escape from a certain amount of loss and the best thing to do is move forward in life with a commitment to never get caught in the same circumstance again.”
There are times that it is best to remove ourselves from an unworkable promise but when this happens we must realize two things. First, this is a message to me that I did not accurately look into the possibilities of my future and must be wiser next time. Second, there will be some temporary soul interference, but if I commit myself to a life of truth I can progress back to where I am supposed to be. Temporary soul interference may be a price worth paying to get out of a bad situation.
Promises such as many marriage vows that are written by someone else are often not as serious as the ones you put in your own words. If you agreed “to death do us part” then you must reflect on what type of commitment you internally made as you were agreeing to these words. Were you thinking that you would stay with your spouse no matter what or were you thinking that you would be true to her until the death of the relationship? There are always many variables to consider.
Just remember this. When you learn to be true to your word, the Word within you will be known and it will be found to be made flesh in you. God will then be known as 100% trustworthy.
As a general rule it is a good idea to only make promises when it is important to the other party involved, and then word them in a way that you are close to 100% sure that you can fulfill them.
Copyright by J J Dewey
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