What are we teaching people when we say one thing but do another?  When you say you’re not going to lend people money, but you allow them to convince you to lend them some.  When you say you’re going to stop drinking because alcohol is making you sick, but they pressure you to continue to go out for happy hours.  When family members or supposed friends make you feel small, ridiculed or worse, but you still hang out with them and allow the behavior.

Matthew 5:37 tells us “But let your ‘yes’ mean ‘yes,’ and your ‘no’ mean ‘no.’”  In other words, we need to say what we mean and then people need to respect what we said even If they don’t agree or like it.   If we allow others to cajole us into changing our minds and then secretly resent it, it’s really our own fault.  If I know I am financially unstable currently and I allow friends/family to convince me to go on a trip, I have no one to blame except for myself when I come back and I am strapped.

We only get this one life to live and as long as we aren’t hurting anyone (including ourselves) we should live it truthfully.