I was in the company of three mischievous male cousins ​​when we met a beautiful young woman who they claimed was a childhood friend. I hadn’t met her before, so I started asking general questions in my quest to get to know her better. One of my cousins ​​chimed in on our conversation and jokingly asked if she was available because she wanted a woman to settle down with.

She quickly responded that she was off limits, taken, and absolutely committed. With a twinkle in her eye, she raised her left arm to show off a dazzling ring on her middle finger. With the seriousness with which she responded, I thought she was actually married, traditionally at least.

Interested, I asked her if she was married because she felt she was too young. She told me that her boyfriend had not yet fulfilled the necessary traditional rights that would make him claim her, but that “he had promised.” I was amazed at the way she had completely believed the promise without considering the possibility that the knight might break it.

Before I could utter a word, the notorious young men in my company unanimously broke out singing a popular song of praise. “He has promised that he will never fail, I will adore him, I will adore him. He promised that he will never fail, his faithfulness is forever, his faithfulness is forever.” We all laughed and the boys continued to make fun of her. She got upset and told the young people that they did not know what was happening.

She added that they were jealous and continued to vehemently defend her boyfriend’s undying love for her. I don’t know how the story will end, but I pray that it ends happily ever after and that the gentleman keeps his “promise” to walk her down the hall. Although I found it funny at the time, I know it won’t be a funny situation if her boyfriend breaks his promise.

When I was in marriage therapy, my husband and I were so confident that we would definitely end up together. We had made a decision and we had gone through all the necessary processes. There were only a few days left and all we had to do was the traditional marriage ceremony followed by the wedding itself. The door-knocking ceremony was out of place, had been announced in the church, and invitations were already available.

One day during therapy, the wise priest made it clear to us that until we were declared husband and wife after exchanging our wedding vows, any of us could change our minds. We were surprised because neither of us had considered changing our minds, or was he wrong? As if in response to my question, my husband told the priest that he was not going to change his mind.

I also told him that I was not planning to change my mind. He smiled at us and gave us examples of couples whose partners changed their minds just days before their wedding. Some had made announcements in the church and had already sent out invitations. However, some were left alone at the altar. The sweet promises they had made were broken before their very eyes. From that moment on, it was in the back of my mind that anything could happen on the way down the aisle.

A popular Boyz II Men song captured the hearts of many in the past, as its lyrics promised endless love. “I swear (I swear) by the moon and the stars in the sky I’ll be there (I’ll be there) I swear (and I swear) like the shadow that’s next to you I’ll be there (I’ll be there) for better or worse (better or worse ) until death do us part I will love you with every beat of my heart and I swear, I swear, I swear, the letter.

Who wouldn’t love such sweet words backed by promises until death do us part? However, it is safer to believe such words at the wedding altar where they are said before a multitude of witnesses and before God. Promises are beautiful but they can be broken, in fact, they are usually broken. Don’t you remember a time when you were so sure you would keep a promise but were surprised to break it? In other words, adding weight to a promise by swearing will not make it come true.

Numbers 23:19 tells us that God is not a man, to lie, or a son of man, to change his mind. Have you said it and won’t you? Or has he spoken and will not follow through? That means that a man or a woman can lie or change their mind, it is only God who does not break his promises to his children. He is the only one who stands out for actually doing what he says he will do. King David said of the Lord in Psalm 138 verse 2: “For you have magnified your word above all your name.”

That is why Jesus warns us in Matthew 5: 33-37 “Do not swear at all, neither by heaven, because it is God’s throne, nor by earth, because it is his footstool, nor by Jerusalem, because it is the city ​​of the great King. And do not swear by your head, because you cannot make a hair white or black. Let what you say be simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’, anything more than this comes from evil.

It is not uncommon to see many single women wearing promise rings from their lovers who promise to marry them in the future. Some even wear it on the finger of the wedding ring to deter other suitors. What a dangerous thing to do! What if the promise is broken and all the good men who thought you were married didn’t dare approach you? What if a man who could have made you happier passed you on to the next single lady with no ring on her finger?

Ecclesiastes 5: 4-5 says: “When you promise a vow to God, do not delay in paying it, because he does not like fools; pay what you promise. It is better not to promise than to promise and not pay.” This verse shows our fallibility as human beings and reiterates that it is better not to make a vow or promise than to do so and not keep our end of the bargain. If we, as human beings, are able to break our vows to God Himself despite the repercussions, isn’t it easier to break the promises we make to our fellow men?

After all, there are so many excuses that can be appropriately used to break a promise to a partner. With the application of ingenious excuses such as that my mother does not like you, the one who breaks the promise leaves the scene. Some even tell their partner that their parents disagree with tribal differences or that they had a vivid dream that revealed doom to them if they married.

I am not casting a negative light by making promises that we intend to keep, but rather on broken promises that have left many women unfulfilled. Sometimes heartbreak and disappointment are deliberately unplanned. A man can be serious when he promises heaven on earth. However, let’s not forget Numbers 23:19 which reveals how man is prone to change his mind. Momentary feelings can be fickle and trusting them completely can spell doom.

In the world of love and romance, men will continue to make promises to women. Some will keep these promises, while others will break them for one reason or another. Women will also continue to engage with men who have not taken serious steps to marry them. It is up to us to keep it in the back of our mind that man-made promises can be broken unlike God-made promises.

With this understanding, we can pray to God to allow his will for our lives to be fulfilled. Reminding him of the promises he makes to us in his word and the fact that he cannot lie. In this way, we challenge him to grant us the desires of our hearts. Promise rings are beautiful symbols of love and many find them attractive. But the invisible seal of constant prayer on a single woman with bare fingers is better than a token promise that can be broken.

When the fingers of a single woman in a relationship remain bare, her man knows that she attracts others who may be quicker to deliver on their promises without symbols of delay. He prepares to quickly claim the woman he loves. The woman who constantly prays to God to fulfill her desire for her life has nothing to prove to the world. God makes sure to show the world around her that he is a God who does not lie.