For the better part of a week I’ve been touching on the idea of being a person of your word. I’ve talked about keeping track of your promises, keeping your promises, what to do when you haven’t kept your word, and how your reliability can be someone else’s stability.

Let me share another idea that I think is helpful.

People of their word are people of THE Word.

What this means is that people who are reliable to keep their word are rooted in something permanent. They can be trustworthy and reliable because they don’t base their words, opinions and actions on fluctuating moods or opinion polls. They base them on Jesus’ words that we find in the Bible.

Consider a farmer who once told his son to plow a field in straight lines. The son hadn’t done this before so the father gave him some advice and told him to look at something on the other end of the field as a point of reference and plow toward it.

The farmer went away for a while and came back only to find the field plowed all zig-zaggy. “What happened?!” he asked. “I did just as you said,” the son replied, “but the rabbit just kept jumping around!”

Oops!

It’s tempting to base our word, opinions and life on things that change and fluctuate—whether that be our moods, opinion polls, or even friends who always want to put in their two cents despite their own lives being a wreck.

But get this. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 says, “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” That’s a reminder that Jesus and his words are reliable. They are “God-breathed”!

The rabbit is zig-zaggy. Christ is not. Trust Christ.

Do you want to be rooted in something permanent? Do you want to be someone others can depend on? If so, remember this:

People of their word are people of THE Word.

By Matthew Ruttan

-Today’s “Up!” is partly based on my podcast “How to be steady for someone when times get tough,” Part 2 in the “My Word” series. Click here to listen in!
-Bible quotes are from the New International Version.