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Sunday, January 6, 2013

A Promise Has Two Ends


I was reading someone's post today, expressing gratitude to her husband for being beside her not just in her best but at her worst too,and being with her all through...

Considering what we usually read in the papers about marriages, this was a refreshing read; but again not all couples are happy and may end up getting separated. Are they wrong in the eyes of God? I have held different opinions over time on this topic and currently it so happened that in our daily family prayer time we have been reading the old testament and it is revealing to me new and surprising lessons every day. One particular lesson I have shared in an earlier post (titled- In Love and in War) and now I intend to share another lesson I learnt. 

The lesson is- A Promise has Two Ends. If one end of the promise is not kept, by rights the other end of the promise is made null. It can be withdrawn! This is what I gathered from the story of Solomon. God promised David,  Solomon's father that if he and his descendants obeyed God then the family line would rule for ever. Solomon showed a promising spark when he prayed to God for wisdom, and so God blessed him not only with wisdom but also wealth.  But with time he turned  disobedient. He began to get obsessed with gaining more and more riches at the expense of his subjects. He made the subjects unhappy in his rule by making them work for him without pay and charging excessive tax. Solomon didn't keep the promise to obey God.  By rights the whole kingdom could have been taken away but  still God’s love being greater, his promise to David was held good but only in name. Ten of the twelve tribes of the kingdom were taken away from under the rule of Solomon's descendants! 


There are two ends to every relation. A plant wilts without water; animals move in search of food. No living thing stays in a place which provides nothing for its survival, health and happiness.

Trees that don’t bear fruit are cut by the farmer however many years he might have tended it. A bird abandons the nest on a branch if the branch is shaken incessantly. That is a rule of nature; it is not promises, it is usefulness and responsiveness that survives. Even God can't help those who wont help themselves then how can a mere mortal stick to non responsive relationships? 

Gods mercies and grace falls on the person who shows promise, a spark; but stays on the one who obeys him. The blessings stay on the one who uses those blessings to convert the spark in him/her to a fire in the service of God. There is the story where the servant who invests all the talents given by the Master doubles it , and receives as reward from the Master 'all of the talents from the servant who did nothing with his share'. A grateful heart is essential to recognize all the blessings in one's life in the form of family, friends, health or wealth and not wait for their loss to recognize it. By not being grateful and aware towards God's blessings a person unwittingly pushes those blessings away. 

There is something I have always believed in -"A man is as good as his word, his promise" but I also believe today -"A promise does not a stand without the other end held good"



17 comments:

JANU said...

So true.

A Great Liar said...

I agree with you word to word Jerley. All the more reason for one to be selective abt making promises, becoz they r never easy to keep. And sometimes, as you pointed out rather well, it is beyond our control to do so.

And for precisely that reason, most of the promises that we r so quick to make, and ardently believe in keeping them, r doomed for failure eventually. Very few, if any, survive the test of time and character.

Very well done, as always. Happy writing :)

Ghadeer said...

That's a good post with much wisdom!

Jerly said...

Thanks Janu AGL and Ghadeer; I value the appreciation and words u leave behind.

Right AGL; maybe that is why the Bible discourages promising on GOD. and says just let ur YES be a YES and ur NO be a NO(.......because u never KNOW...what life may throw up! )

Jovy Thomas said...

I agree with Ghadeer. Wise words indeed.

Jerly said...

:)))))) muah

Rahul Bhatia said...

Lovely writing Jerly and it is our usefulness to others that makes us wanted or rejected:)

A Great Liar said...

@Jerly: Yes, thats true. Life is like a box of chocolate, to quote poor Forrest Gump!
Btw, I have also replied to ur comments on my blog, and have also publishd a new post. Apologies for the delay :)

Anonymous said...

... By not being grateful and aware towards God's blessings a person unwittingly pushes those blessings away. ...

I like very much the above statement :)!

What I try to remind myself of is that even when things are at their best,I should never forget God's grace.Otherwise it can be so easy to slip into perdition!

What's more,I try not to make promises anymore.There had been times where I was unable to mantain a promise,so I felt very guilty.
In my opinion it's better not to talk a lot,but to do!By this I mean to do things when you're sure you can do them,if God's willing :).

In regards to love relationships I'd say a promise of love is easy,but doing love is much harder!Yet it can lead to very good things - like a stable relationship...Of course,only if love is done and given on both sides :)!

Many greetngs dear Jerly :)!

Deepak Kripal said...

That's a very interesting subject you elaborated here.. I agree with you 100% here.. no two ways about it..

a man is as good as his word.. absolute truth..

Deepak Kripal said...

That's a very interesting subject you elaborated here.. I agree with you 100% here.. no two ways about it..

a man is as good as his word.. absolute truth..

Aritha V. said...

Thank you for writing this.

Jerly said...

Thank u AGL, Jasmina, Deepak, Jedidja and Patricja for leaving ur words and views for me here....I am glad u liked it:)

deeps said...

for me promise is a wrong word in this relationship... i think commitment is the right word...it is supposed to be a life long one... but again there is this question of laws and rules which come with loopholes...nha?
for me love should be the rule that suppose to bind this commitment, or else...

Jerly said...

Thaank u Rahul Bhatia and deeps for dropping by; sorry I missed out to mention u before Rahul!!!!

Hemant said...

Amazing Jerly....I would like to call this post as Jerly-Gyan!!

"It is usefulness and responsiveness that survives" So true & your whole post boasts about the same thing!!

Jerly said...

Thank you Hemant for such a lovely comment :)

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