Let Your Yes Be Yes

It's a verse from the Bible (James 5:12, and Jesus said it in Matt. 5:37).

It was in my head because of something I read. This is one of my personal pet peeves. People who say they will do something but then don't do it. When I was in college our music professor had a friend who was moving his music studio, so he asked the choir for help. Everybody raised their hands and said they would. After, I went and talked to the professor, I felt bad that I couldn't make it (since I was the only one), but he didn't worry about it and was appreciative that I told him.

Wouldn't you know the night of the move, out of the 40 who volunteered, 2 showed up. That's right, two! Now I felt really bad because they could have used my help, but that's when he said he would rather have five people, but know all five are going to show up than have forty but only two show up.

And it makes sense. I bug the students about it all the time. Everyone wants to volunteer and feel good. But sometimes we volunteer to feel good and then can't make it. As someone that's now in charge of things like that, I would much rather have people I know I can count on than people who are simply going to say they will do something then not.

Here's how this all got in my head.

(Jesus speaking) “But what do you think about this? A man with two sons told the older boy, ‘Son, go out and work in the vineyard today.’ The son answered, ‘No, I won’t go,’ but later he changed his mind and went anyway. Then the father told the other son, ‘You go,’ and he said, ‘Yes, sir, I will.’ But he didn’t go.
“Which of the two obeyed his father?”
They replied, “The first.” ~ Matthew 21:28-31

To me it just makes sense...

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