Lip Service

Reading for Today: Proverb Chapter 14

Gold Nugget

Verse 23: “In all labor there is profit, but idle chatter leads only to poverty.”

Commentary

I know of a couple that has suffered a great deal of emotional torment. This relationship has been exposed to the highest form of betrayal - infidelity. I don’t know of anything more painful that a person can endure than to experience this kind of hurt. As if the pain of being betrayed isn’t enough, it is often a cancer to a relationship that will eventually destroy it if it isn’t treated immediately. In this relationship the spouse that cheated has promised, “Things would be different.” Time after time this only proves to be “lip service”. Just as infidelity is the highest form of betrayal, being willing to forgive and rebuild is the highest form of commitment. People that exhibit this highest form of commitment are often rewarded with empty promises and false hope. Empty promises and false hope can be too much for a person to endure after suffering so much already. Thinking that the other person is willing to “work” at making things right and then finding nothing at the end of the rainbow is devastating. Whether we are talking about something as tormenting as an affair or something of lesser pain; issuing ‘false hope” is cruel and unusual punishment. When we say we are going to work at something, we need to be willing to climb the highest mountain, travel through the lowest valley or swim the deepest ocean. When we need to work at something and other people are depending on us to deliver the changes in our lives, we need to stand up and deliver. Today’s “gold nugget” says, “In all labor there is profit, but idle chatter leads only to poverty.” If we work hard and make changes in our lives that improve or (profit) our relationships, we honor God and our loved ones. If we offer “lip service” and fail to follow up with results, it’s just “idle chatter” that leads to emotional bankruptcy (poverty). When we make promises to our spouse, children, friends or even people in our professional life, we are literally asking them to hold on while we make the change. Not following through and crushing peoples hopes is as ugly an act as we can possibly demonstrate.

 

Prayer

Lord, I know that I have made promises to people to make changes in my life. I also know that I have not always delivered on those promises. Help me to realize the destructive and harmful effects I have on people by not following through. I ask you to forgive me and those that you may reveal to me that I’ve hurt in this way. Amen

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