After Cain killed his brother Abel, God spoke to him and he responded angrily and paid dearly for it. “The Lord said to Cain, ‘Where is Abel your brother?’ Cain said, “I do not know; Am I my brother’s keeper?” And the Lord said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood is crying to me from the ground. And now you are cursed from this ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand” Gen. 4 9-10. We are not condemning Cain but we have to learn from him that when we are overwhelm with anger, we should be slow to speak lest we regret our actions later. “Do not use harmful words, but only helpful words, the kind that build up and provide what is needed, so that what you say will do good to those who hear you” Eph. 4:29. 

King Herod was celebrating his birthday when Salome’s notorious dance pleased him. So, he said to her, “What would you like to have? I will give you anything you want. I swear that I will give you what you ask for, even as much as half my kingdom! Mk 6:22-23.

After consulting her mother, she demanded for the head of John the Baptist. “This made the king very sad, but he could not refuse her because of the vows he made in front of all his guests.” Mk 6:26. But Mk 6:20 said earlier that “Herod was afraid of John because he knew that John was a good and holy man, and so he kept him safe.” But because he wanted to please his guest and Herodias’ daughter, he directed his servants to behead John to meet her demand.  

Herod regretted it but decided to please the people. So, let us avoid making promises when we are over-joy: we are very likely to say or do the wrong thing. “Your speech should always be pleasant and interesting, and you should know how to give the right answer to everyone” Col. 4:6.

Place God first before the people irrespective of their relationship or positions in your life. God created you out of nothing, yet He allowed His Son, Jesus Christ to come to this earth and set you free from power of darkness and pay for your redemption through His crucifixion. So align your desires with His will and seek His kingdom above all else.

Daniel refused to please men but God and God decided to protect him in the den of lions as shown in Daniel 6:13, 16, 22. “Daniel does not respect your majesty or obey the order you issued. He prays regularly three times a day.” So the king gave orders foe Daniel to be arrested and he was thrown into the pit filled with lions. When he was unhurt he told the king, “God sent his angel to shut the mouths of the lions so that they would not hurt me.”

When King Jephthah wanted to wage war against his opponents, he promised the Lord saying in Judges 11:30-31, 33-35. “If you give me victory over the Ammonites, I will burn as an offering the first person that comes out of my house to meet me, when I come back from the victory. I will offer that person to you as a sacrifice. He struck at them from Aroer to the area round Minnith, twenty cities in all, and as far as Abel Keramim.

When he went back home to Mizpah, there was his daughter coming out to meet him, dancing and playing the tambourine. She was his only child. When he saw her, he tore his clothes in sorrow and said ”Oh, my daughter! You are breaking my heart! Why must it be you that causes me pain? I have made a solemn promise to the Lord, and I cannot take it back!”

“You can be sure that on Judgment Day everyone will have to give account of every useless word he has ever spoken. Your words will be used to judge you- to declare you either innocent or guilty” Mt. 12:36-37. His daughter encouraged him to fulfill his promise to the Lord but asked for two months to wander away in the mountains with her friends.

She was granted the permission and when she returned, her father sacrificed her to God as a virgin. When he pleaded with God to deliver his enemies to him, God did not give him condition but he made a promise that affected his family negatively at the end of the sojourn. We have to consider the implications of our promises before we make them.

As Christians, let us emulate Jesus Christ who taught us how to surrender to His Father’s (Our Father’s) will in all our undertakings. God’s plan is the best for us all. Each of us has our plans but God alone knows what future holds for us and only He can give us the strength and wisdom to meet its challenges. When we humbly submit ourselves to God He will protect us against making decisions to please ourselves or other people.  

The Bible revealed on many occasions how Jesus Christ spent time praying to the Father before taking a major decision. “He said to them, ‘The sorrow in my heart is so great that it almost crushes me. Stay here and keep watch.’ He went a little further on, threw Himself on Father, my Father! All things are possible for you. Take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet not what I want, but what you want.” Mk 14:34-36.     

There is the need for us to reflect on our past and be remorseful if we have pleased people and displeased God like Herod deed in the case above. Peter denied Jesus thrice but repented and was elevated later by Jesus before the Ascension. We need the Spirit of wisdom to enable us despise the perishable things of the world and aspire only after the things that are eternal. Only then we can live lives pleasing to God Our Creator.    

Dear readers, let us avoid speaking words fill with evil and negativity irrespective of our circumstances. You can speak words of blessing to your enemy and allow God to avenge you for He sees all that happens to you. “Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven; give and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For the measure you give will be the measure you get back” Luke 6:37-38. When you are happy or over-excited, do not make promise; and when you are angry, say or do nothing you will regret later!