Yoda, in Star Wars, is famous for his saying, "Do or Do Not. There is no Try." This speaks to definiteness with intention and commitment. When we say we will try to be somewhere, as in meeting up with our friends, it's not committing to be there. It's saying, "Maybe" and we leave the door open to back out if something else comes up that we'd rather do, and our friends are up in the air about what our decision was as no decision was made! On top of this, most of the time we don't get back to them about our commitment to the invite.
How do I make my friends feel when I use these words? Can they count on me being present when I say I will "try" to be there? No, of course not. What am I then known by? I'm known for being non-committal and ambiguous. That I can't be counted on. Do I want to be known as being that? And what does God say about being non-committal and ambiguous?
Do or Do Not. There Is No Try.
I found the following statement in Matthew 5:37, "But let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No.’ For whatever is more than these is from the evil one." The context here is about oaths and not swearing or taking oaths and that a man's word alone is enough and it should be one or the other and truthful. These words are also clear speech one way or the other, isn't it? It's being truthful, even when we say, "I don't know my schedule, I will get back to you." And then we are to make sure we get back to our friend, so we keep our word. If I say, "Yes, I will be there" or "No, I won't be there," I have committed and clearly stated what my decision is. Do or do not and there is no try is what God said, before Yoda!
Can I change my decision and then let my friend know? Of course! Life happens! Then, what will I be known by? I will be known that I keep my word and that I am considerate and let other people know when I can't keep my previous commitment. I won't be known by ambiguity and not able to be counted on. I will be a better friend and will attract those who operate the same or can chat with them about how it makes me feel if they are ambiguous.
Years ago, I decided to train myself and change my words to be clear, committed words and it has supported me in living an honest, free life. I also recently read a book titled, "Extreme Ownership" that speaks to this and living this way as a way of life. It talks about how we own every word and action that we do and as we accept this fact of life, we are free (if we also handle our words/actions God's way).
David said it best in Psalm 51:4, "Against You, You only, have I sinned..." While this scripture is about David confessing to God his decision to set the stage for a soldier in his army to be killed so he can take the wife as his own, it speaks to the truth that we all sin before God, first and foremost. David took extreme ownership of the error of his ways and confessed it and turned from the error of his ways.
To apply this principle, there are a couple of questions to consider:
What words are you using when asked to commit to something?
What do you want to be known by?
Will you consider changing your words to show commitment one way or the other to follow God's way?
As David did, will you take extreme ownership of your words/actions and handle them according to God's way of life? If you need support in this, please check out A Way of Life; Kingdom Principles for Living Victoriously on Amazon or this website.
I pray that this principle will go deep to you, who is reading this. You will feel different and trust me, it's worth training yourself to speak commitment and truthful words!
Enjoy your journey,
Nancy