Tis the season to question
the integrity of wanna-be leaders. The presidential race in full force here in
America offers us a profound insight into the human psyche and what it is
willing to say to reach its goals. Our history is rife with promises made in
hopes of garnering votes only to see those promises broken in the face of
reality.
A Republican presidential
candidate said in his campaign, “Read my lips. No new taxes!” That may have
helped get him elected, but it was a promise he had to break after he took
office. The most recent comment a president probably wishes he could take back
is the infamous, “If you like your current health insurance plan, you can keep
it.”
Mary Poppins speaks of a
promise in the movie by the same name as a “pie crust promise, easily made and
easily broken.” In our politics, perhaps in life in general, we have come to
see most of our promises as being merely “pie crusts”. This is not so much a
mark of our world’s reality as it seems to be a mark of human character.
Integrity has become a victim of social expediency.
Promises should mean
something. They should inspire trust. They should reveal integrity. A promise
should shape a hoped-for future that will become reality if the one making the
promise is willing to pay the price to carry through. Too many promises become
“pie crust” promises.
The price we pay for such
frivolous use of words can be high. The loss of trust, the loss of hope, the
loss of personal integrity, all should be considerations in our minds before we
make these promises. Can we afford the price?
Unfortunately in politics and
other areas of life, that price no longer seems so high. Our disappointment in
broken promises rarely translates into action that affects the one making the
promise. Maybe the attitude is “I have the power, and you do not. Get over your
disappointment.” Another perspective might be “I’m not running for reelection.
You can’t touch me. Too bad for you.”
Life goes on and we adjust
our expectations according to the experiences we have had with people making
promises. We lose faith in a person’s promise, so we make them sign a piece of
paper. Because we have learned their personal promise is meaningless and paper
signatures can be just as meaningless, we have lawyers, lots of lawyers. Then
we make tons of jokes about lawyers who cannot be trusted.
Where does this end? It ends
where it begins, with each of us as individuals. Can I be trusted? Do I inspire
hope in the people to whom I make a promise? Do I have integrity which is
revealed in the way I am willing keep my promises?
Can I change the world? No,
but I can create a climate of trust around myself. Can I live a life that tells
others a person’s promise can be trusted? Yes, that is in my power.
I can be a person of integrity
whose word can be trusted. I can be a person of integrity whose promises will
be kept as far as humanly possible. I can be a person who will not make
promises that exist only to win the approval of others.
As Jesus said,
Mat 5:33-37 "You have also heard that people were told in the
past, 'Do not break your promise, but do what you have vowed to the Lord to
do.' But now I tell you: do not use any vow when you make a promise. Do not
swear by heaven, for it is God's throne; nor by earth, for it is the resting
place for his feet; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. Do
not even swear by your head, because you cannot make a single hair white or
black. Just say 'Yes' or 'No'---anything else you say comes from the Evil One.
Promises create a dilemma
only when we cannot be trusted to pay the price to back our word.
