A Promise Has Two Ends

I was reading someone's post today, expressing gratitude towards 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 many 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 has been revealing to me new and surprising lessons every day. One particular lesson I shared in an earlier post (titled- In Love and in War) and now I intend to share another lesson that 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 It can be withdrawn!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, their family line would rule forever. Solomon showed a promising spark when he prayed to God for wisdom, and as a result, God blessed him, not only with wisdom but also wealth.  However, 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 his 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. Nonetheless, it was 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 down 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, therefore, it is usefulness and responsiveness that survives. When God can't help those who won't help themselves, how can a mere mortal stick to non responsive relationships? 

God's mercies and grace indeed fall on the person who shows promise, a spark; but stays only on the one who obeys him. The blessings stay on the one who uses those blessings, converting 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 recognise all the blessings in one's life in the form of family, friends, health or wealth, rather than having to lose them to be able to recognise them. By not being grateful or aware about God's blessings, a person unwittingly pushes those blessings away. 

What I mean to say is that, although we should strive to keep our promises, it need be only as long as promises to us are kept. While I have always believed that a 'man' is only as good as his word,  I also believe today that a promise does not a stand without the other end held good.