This week's promise: God honors truth

Bound to be true

Who may enter your presence on your holy hill? Those whokeep their promise even when it hurts.

I am not bound to win, but I am bound to be true. I am not bound to succeed, but I am bound to live by the light that I have.

Breach of contract

A man I was discipling was involved in a difficult suit with his partners; they had committed acts that had breached contracts and given them substantial liability.

His business partners wouldn't admit, much less deal with, the problem. So my friend arranged a luncheon during which he introduced me as his personal lawyer. His partners were surprised and even irritated as we began talking about the case, but after about 30 minutes they seemed relieved to finally be confronting the issues.

After about two hours, everyone agreed they would try to settle the case. My friend, who was mostly responsible for the problem, agreed to bear a disproportionately larger part of the financial settlement.

The case was settled within 30 days. Its impact on the reputation and customer base of the firm was minimal, and the partners saw my friend in a new light. He was someone who had courage, conviction, and conscience. He was a man of character.

Rather than looking out for selfish gain in the courts, believers are commanded to work out disputes with justice and fairness. At the heart of such resolution of problems is the commitment of believers to "keep their promises even when it hurts" (Psalm 15:4).

Adapted from Men of Integrity Devotional Bible with devotions from the editors of Men of Integrity, a publication of Christianity Today International (Tyndale, 2002), entry for May 3.

Content is derived from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation and other publications of Tyndale Publishing House