People say what they need to in order to look good for the moment. I remember a man saying to me that he would not forget what I had done for him. Well, it's been about a year and half since I have heard from him. But, I'm not too worried. Not for one second do I think he will remember, but it's just the human condition to say something that sounds "right" for the moment. And it's even more the human condition to say something and never get around to fulfilling what you said you would do. I would be a bit more condemnatory if I wasn't guilty of the same thing myself.
That brings to mind a story with a stinging indictment to it. Jesus was brought a woman caught in adultery. His response was to write in the dirt. As he wrote, the accusers all walked away saying nothing. What did he write? Who knows. Some suggest that he wrote the 10 commandments, one of which is to honor your father and mother, another of which is to not covet your neighbor's wife, and 8 others which no one in the human condition could fulfill. Some say that he wrote what he said earlier in his ministry. You have heard it said not to commit adultery. But I say to you not to lust after a woman for in so doing you commit adultery in your heart. Who could really stone a woman for what a man does all the time, every day as he looks at all the women in the town.
So when I think of this man who had good intentions, I also think of the many times I didn't really follow through with something I have said. It's a humbling experience, really–a bit like masquerading every Halloween in costumes.
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