You Have My Word

Four score and seven years ago [87 years] our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men [and women] are created equal…
– Abraham Lincoln, November 19, 1863

How many of us had to memorize the “Gettysburg Address” when we were in school? At the time, some of us, to our loss, failed to recognize the value of implanting those words into our brains.

One of many things we can learn from President Lincoln’s speech is that words are important. Lincoln wrote and delivered his three-paragraph speech while America was still in the midst of the Civil War. Lincoln said, “The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here.” Yet, more than 160 years later, we still remember what Lincoln said, but sadly forget about the soldiers who died there. Words matter.

Business people around the world say, “They will be delivered on such-and-such date,” even while the oil, cars, and produce aren’t yet loaded on their ships. Words communicate intent. Words speak of things that will be even while those things don’t exist. We use words as part of our “in the image of God” nature.

God “calls those things which do not exist as though they did. (Romans 4:17 NKJV)” Jesus spoke of His victory over death before He rose from the dead:

From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.
– Matthew 16:21 ESV

Over 2 billion people alive today call themselves Christian, believing what Jesus said. They didn’t need a piece of paper signed by both parties and notarized in the presence of a notary public. Instead, they took God at His Word:

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. – John 3:16-17

For Christians, we must value words and think before we speak. As the Proverb says, “When words are many, sin is unavoidable, but he who restrains his lips is wise. (Proverbs 10:19 ESV)” This truth is why we should practice our salvation testimony. If we ramble, we lose credibility. The same is true if we are presenting an idea to someone (i.e., elevator pitch). What we say must be brief, uncluttered with adjectives, and clearly say what makes our idea beneficial.

Over the course of my life, I have observed that many people undervalue words. How many times have parents been caught off guard when their young child repeated something they had said? Words matter.

In our modern influencer culture, many people say things they don’t mean and commit to things they don’t intend to do. They give speeches that are content-free. It hasn’t always been that way. Yes, there have always been liars and narcissists and loudmouths, but it used to be that most people considered their “word” as a contract when making a commitment. In fact, when I was a young man in Indiana, the state law said that verbal contracts were valid for anything except real estate. For our salvation, we can depend on the verity of God’s word.

Throughout the Bible, God repeatedly tells people, “I will do these things. You have my word.¹”

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Footnotes

1. For the word of the Lord holds true, and we can trust everything he does. Psalms 33:4 NLT ↩︎