Posted by
peripheral on Friday, March 19, 2010 7:44:47 AM
From My Perspective - - -
A phrase attributed to Miguel
de Cervantes is: "An honest man's word is as good as his bond." This was
a standard in the early days of our nation. It continues as an innate readiness
for many today. Somewhere along the way, Situational Ethics was introduced and
accepted as a reasonable lifestyle, and the Philosophy that the end justifies
the means was embraced. This is a very old phrase dating back and attributed to
“The
Greek playwright Sophocles who wrote in Electra (c 409 B.C.), 'The end excuses
any evil,' a thought later rendered by the Roman poet Ovid as 'The result
justifies the deed' in 'Heroides' (c. 10 B.C.)." [From "Wise Words
and Wives' Tales: The Origins, Meanings and Time-Honored Wisdom of Proverbs and
Folk Sayings Olde and New" by Stuart Flexner and Doris Flexner, Avon
Books, New York,
1993].
If
we fast-forward to our world today, how reliable is a man’s word? Can it be
received and accepted as one saying what he means and meaning what he says? If
a person swears to “tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth
– so help me God!”, shouldn’t that mean that what is spoken will be precise, exact
and honest? The following was publicly stated some time ago: “The way to make government
responsible is to hold it accountable and the way to hold it accountable is to
make it transparent so that the American people can know exactly what decisions
are being made, how they are being made and whether their interests are being
well-served. The directives I am giving my administration today on how to
interpret the Freedom of Information Act will do just that. For a long time
now, there has been too much secrecy in this city. The old rules said that if
there was a defensible argument for not disclosing something to the American
people, then it should not be disclosed. That era is now over. Starting today,
every agency and department should know that this administration stands on the
side not of those who seek to withhold information, but those who seek to make
it known...the mere fact that you have the legal power to keep something secret
doesn't mean you should always use it." These are the words of President
Obama in 2009. However, The Associated Press has reported the following: “When President Obama took office, he famously aspired to be
the leader in administrative transparency, but now he finds himself struggling
to enforce it within his own government. In fiscal year 2009, 17 major
governmental agencies refused to release information, claiming legal
exemptions, 466,872 times, an increase of nearly 50 percent from the previous
year…In 2008, the government refused 312,683 requests made under the Freedom of
Information Act…”
Being President of anything is in and of itself daunting and
challenging at the very least! That being said, keeping one’s word should be as
natural as breathing! Ecclesiastes 5:1-6 (NLT) reminds one what is acceptable
before and in the Presence of God. “As you enter the house of God, keep
your ears open and your mouth shut! Don't be a fool who doesn't realize that
mindless offerings to God are evil. And don't make rash promises to God, for he is in heaven, and you are
only here on earth. So let your words be few. Just as being too busy gives you
nightmares, being a fool makes you a blabbermouth. So when you make a promise
to God, don't delay in following through, for God takes no pleasure in fools.
Keep all the promises you make to him. It is better to say nothing than to
promise something that you don't follow through on. In such cases, your mouth
is making you sin. And don't defend yourself by telling the Temple messenger that the promise you made
was a mistake. That would make God angry, and he might wipe out everything you
have achieved.” When one places his/her hand on The Holy Bible, and takes an
oath of office or to give witness to what is true - Integrity in Speech and a
Factual representation should be the minimum expectation. What is expected from others, should also be the behavior of
us all. In I Corinthians 1:19-20 (NLT), we read: “As the
Scriptures say, I will destroy human wisdom and discard their most brilliant
ideas. So where does
this leave the philosophers, the scholars, and the world's brilliant debaters?
God has made them all look foolish and has shown their wisdom to be useless
nonsense.” Jesus said (Matthew 5:37 – NLT): “Just
say a simple, 'Yes, I will,' or 'No, I won't.' Your word is enough. To
strengthen your promise with a vow shows that something is wrong.“
Can anyone - - everyone - - rely on your word? If not, why not? Consider these things with me!