2 Corinthians 2:12-17

 Now when I came to Troas for the gospel of Christ and when a door was opened for me in the Lord, I had no rest for my spirit, not finding Titus my brother; but taking my leave of them, I went on to Macedonia.
But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and manifests through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place. For we are a fragrance of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing; to the one an aroma from death to death, to the other an aroma from life to life. And who is adequate for these things? For we are not like many, peddling the word of God, but as from sincerity, but as from God, we speak in Christ in the sight of God. 2 Cor. 2:12-17

Not doing what we vowed is not simply a lie, although...it could be.

Timing is an important factor. In Paul's case...he hadn't specified a date certain when he would return. That date was determined by the community's ability to satisfy Paul's directives for correcting the lack of moral probity he witnessed in the church. So, Paul was awaiting word from Titus on their progress. He had hoped to met Titus in Troas but was unsuccessful so he moved on to Macedonia. We will read, later in this book, that Titus met Paul there, in Philippi.

The final verses of today's passage reflect Paul's joy after hearing good news from Titus. His meeting was the impetus for Paul writing this letter...which he sent along with Titus back to Corinth.

The point here is that some promises are conditional. "If you mow the lawn I will give you ten dollars". So...when we make promises in a relationship...we need to carefully assess whether they might be encumbered by conditions and take that into account. Then make those conditions clear.

Unfortunately, most of us are captains of our own destiny. We believe we are in control of our circumstances so promises can be made with confidence...and very little attention to the possibility we are in no position to make that promise. Sometimes we know, in our hearts, we will have to shuffle some things around in order to keep a promise but we don't honestly share that information. When the shuffle isn't successful we look like liars.

Well, in fact we would be. Not because we did not fulfill the promise but because we weren't telling the truth about the limitations involved in pursuing that promise. Had we done so, the promise might have been renegotiated from the beginning,

So here's a thought...get all the information out in the open. We might not be able to control somebody's disappointment but we can be certain we did nothing to mislead their expectations.

Live boldly out there today...