The word given.

There may be people who are not interested in the value of their words. They may retract from having said those words. 

What does it mean to give one's words…?

To give your words means that I am promising with my voice that I will do something for someone, and that promise that I make has a great value and a great weight on the person that I will say it to.

In the bible it says that we don't need oaths, that when we say yes it's yes and when we say no it's no. The power of the word is the most important thing. The power of our words is the most important thing. That's why in ancient times giving our words was so important that you could use it instead of singing a contract.

But, in view of the fact that then appeared people very happy to say yes and then change their mind since there’s nothing that enforces compliance, giving our words doesn’t have any value to them.

Then, in addition to signed documents appearing in response to this, came requirements for everything, for example requirements to be able to buy a house or a car, and so on little by little, the human being was filled with more complexity.  In order to ensure that irresponsible people who didn’t keep their word and didn’t sign any documents would feel more compromised.

I cannot understand how a person who has given their word on something can simply not keep it. I can’t even understand why he can’t also point out to the person to whom he once made a commitment and tell him that he can't keep it.

I know that there are times when it’s very difficult to fulfill a verbal commitment but I don’t find it responsible when the person doesn’t show their face to assume their responsibility to fulfill their promise. I think sincerity is a great resource to have when we cannot take on a challenge. Being able to apologize and face up to the problem is not something seen very frequently on the part of the irresponsible.

We all have degrees of responsibility and discipline. Many people under the influence of our parents, including myself, acquired a certain level of responsibility with our actions. By this I mean that those of us who were raised in an environment where responsibility was encouraged or where the child was punished in order to fulfill his responsibility, created in us a habit that is very difficult to break.

In my case, although my father was not the personification of responsibility, he forced all his children to be responsible, at school, at home, with chores, and so on. My mother continually told us that a person's word was to be respected and it was to be kept.

This resonates in my ears to this day. I grew up under this influence and for me keeping one's word was and is a way of life. Over time I learned to be more flexible because I went to the extremes of demanding fulfillment of the word even in relation to place and time.

I get very stressed when I cannot keep my word as written and signed in a document.

Nowadays, as I said before, I am a bit more flexible. I can afford to let my guard down a little and on the condition that I explain the facts in a friendly way. I receive the explanation or I give it of what happens around the fault made, I give my apologies in advance to the person involved and answer what to do next for the benefit of both of us.

This is much more pleasant to do in order to win the goodwill of people than hiding to avoid having to face your responsibilities, which is a form of irresponsibility that I have not done and I don't think I ever will.

Let's live life with respect for others and above all with respect for ourselves. Let's keep our promises and let's be careful not to promise things that are far from being fulfilled in a short term and in an easy way.