"Promise"

There used to be a time when,

A man would promise you,

And he would do it or die tryin’,

His word was always true.

But now if they feel like it,

They just change their mind,

And you never really know,

If they’ll show up on time.

A big part of the cowboy way,

Is doing what you say,

It’s not a question if you will,

But that you’ll find a way.

And that’s why many cattle,

Exchanged hands, bought or sold,

Based on just a handshake,

And the words one told.

It was called integrity,

But now it’s hard to find,

There’s some who never had it,

Some left it far behind.

You think the Lord would help us,

If we called out to Him?

And asked His help to teach us,

To keep our word like then.

I believe He’d do it,

Remember we’re set free,

By nothing but the truth, He said,

It’s how things ought to be.

How we live and what we say,

Should be the thing that shows,

Integrity’s our DNA,

The Lord’s grace makes it so.

“And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free…” (John 8:32, NLT)

Truth has suffered a credibility crisis in our culture. There is no longer a public consensus that certain things are absolutely true, even that absolute truth exists. The prevailing cultural approach to truth is that it is relative. This means that what is true for me may not be true for you. Truth is something based upon personal feelings, rather than a transcendent standard. Christians believe that truth is absolute and revealed by God, no matter what we feel about it. That is the truth that Jesus said would free us, and that He would embody. The good news is that truth will still set us free!

Lord, help us to live and speak and be set free by the truth, in Jesus’ name.

Art by Steven Boaldin, artofacowboy.com. Used by permission. Thanks, Steven, and God bless you.