David the shepherd approached Goliath and declared what he was going to do to him. And he did exactly as he said. Action should follow our words, but do they? Image “David Slays Goliath” by Gustave Dore.

 

Too often, and in too many encounters, it seems that people don’t keep their word. This presents a problem for me and many others.

I can remember back before the days of cell phones a man asked me to meet him at a certain place at a certain time. It was summertime and it was hot. And it so happened that I was out of town when this took place. So, I arrived early to make sure I was on time and didn’t keep him waiting.

And then I waited, and waited, and I waited some more.

Since I was out of town I was questioning whether or not I was in the right or wrong place. But, I had no way of getting in touch (no cell phones then). Finally, after waiting an hour the man arrived.

I asked if he had encountered some unknown problem. He told me “no”, that he had decided to stop by somewhere on the way.

Needless to say, I was incensed. He had kept me waiting in the hot summertime so he could keep me on a string while he did something else.

 

A Psalm of David

“LORD, who shall abide in thy tabernacle? who shall dwell in thy holy hill?

He that walketh uprightly, and worketh righteousness, and speaketh the truth in his heart.

He that backbiteth not with his tongue, nor doeth evil to his neighbour, nor taketh up a reproach against his neighbour.

In whose eyes a vile person is contemned; but he honoureth them that fear the LORD. He that sweareth to his own hurt, and changeth not.

He that putteth not out his money to usury, nor taketh reward against the innocent. He that doeth these things shall never be moved. —- Psalm 15:1-5

 

This Psalm is only five verses but they are quite powerful. I look particularly at verse 4b, where it says: “He that sweareth to his own hurt, and changeth not.

This relates to an acronym that I use often: DWSD.

What does that mean? It means if you say it—-Do What you Say you’ll Do! In other words, KEEP YOUR WORD!

Way too many think or care not what they say. They only blow out words to keep you moving along or hear themselves talk. They really don’t care what they say to you because it was not important enough for them to log it into their brain and remember to do it. Another one of those selfish issues, it’s all about them.

Let’s check ourselves so we don’t fall into that same category. A man is known by his fruits or what he actually does, not by what he says. This is a matter of character, trust and truth.

Other verses of scripture witness the same thoughts to us. Ecclesiastes 5:2, “Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty to utter any thing before God: for God is in heaven, and thou upon earth: therefore let thy words be few.”

Some of the old timers would say, ‘don’t let your mouth overload your wagon.’

Do what you say! You’re in charge of that tongue of yours! Be men and women of integrity! For yourself, your significant other, your children, and your neighbor. Keeping your word dictates how people think of your trustworthiness and any Christian witness you may have.

Remember somebody is always watching. It’s a matter of character. DWSD!

 

Michael Reed is Publisher of The Standard newspaper, print and online. You may find our videos available on Rumble. The bulk of TheStandardSC video media channel has been censored by dominant social media groups like YouTube. YouTube, owed by Alphabet (Google), removed and destroyed all of our video work without permission or remuneration. That has stopped all potential donations from our many supporters on that venue. If you want to continue to see independent thought and reports please “like”, comment, share with a friend, and donate to support The Standard on this page to assure the continued availability of news that is ignored too often by the dominant media.

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