When I was a little girl and a lie was told by someone, all the kids would shout “Liar, liar, pants on fire!” In today’s society, no such condemnation is spoken and no pants are on fire… only tongues set on fire of hell. Lies are so commonplace, there doesn’t seem to be even a raised eyebrow when one is told and now it looks like Christians think they can get away with lying and breaking their word too, just like the world. How can this be and why is it happening?

Years ago, it was said that a man was as good as his word… Where are the good men today? How many Christians do you know that you can depend upon to keep their word? How many think nothing about it when they say, “I’ll call you back” and don’t? I, too, have been such a one, so I’m not pointing my finger at anyone in condemnation. I’m writing this because I’ve come to realize how costly it is not to keep my word. Yes, there can be a legitimate reason why a call back isn’t made, or why any other promise can’t be kept. What I am leading up to is that the Spirit of the Lord is rising up from the depth of my being right now shouting: “WATCH YOUR WORDS!” and it’s not just to me.

Sadly, the fear of the Lord has been missing in the majority of people and far too many in the body of Christ seem to think that breaking one’s word is a light thing that has little or no consequence. Who is there who exercises the fear of the Lord before committing to do anything from a phone call to a wedding vow? We wouldn’t have so many divorces and broken relationships if we “watched our words” as the Lord is beckoning us to do now.

We must never forget that we are God’s ambassadors on this earth and that when we don’t keep our word, we are in effect saying that God can’t be trusted because we represent Him as Him. We are not just hurting others when we don’t keep commitments, we are hurting ourselves much more than we realize. Indeed, we are like cisterns with cracks in them and when it’s time to decree words of life to set people and ourselves free, the power is missing because the cracks leaked most of it out. God is calling us to take inventory. The Bible says we shall give an account for every idle word, and how much more for broken words which is tantamount to lying?

Many years ago, I made a commitment to a couple that I did not keep. Because they had done wrong, I believed I was not obliged to keep my word to them, but not so. The Bible specifically states that we are to keep our word to our hurt and not to change. (Psalm 15:4) Back then when the Spirit of God put it on my heart to give them money in compensation for my broken commitment, I pushed that thought out of my mind and didn’t think about it again until five years ago. Oh how we need to make everything right, no matter how many years have gone by. This couple went on to be with the Lord, but in God’s sight, I still had an obligation to fulfill my word. The Holy Spirit led me to search the internet in order to locate their children so I could give them double the money I was supposed to have given to their parents. They and heaven rejoiced when I did and I praise God that my word has power now because there’s nothing hindering it.

The word judgment in Greek is the word “crisis”…. If we want to prevent judgment (crisis) from coming, the only way we can is to repent for our sins, our ancestors’ sins and our nation’s sins. We are instructed to “work out the salvation of our souls with fear and trembling” because our souls are not yet saved. Only our spirits were saved when we received the Lord as our savior… Our souls and our bodies will be saved later after repentance has done its full work in us. Many desire to grow up into the full stature of Christ, to experience transfiguration and to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles, but these can not be experienced by us if we disobey the Word of God.

Scripture teaches that we have life and death in our tongues and that every idle word shall be judged. Some think this scripture means that this will happen after we die, but I believe we are experiencing judgments right now for the wrongs done that we have not repented of and made right. It’s true that as followers of Christ we have fellowship with God no matter what we’ve done. However, even though our communication with Him doesn’t stop, whatever we sow, we shall reap.

What has been missing and why many are not set free from their troubles and healed today is that we have not done as the scripture has instructed us: We have not gone to the people who have wronged us and discussed our grievances with them, nor have we worked out issues with those we have wronged. There are also follow up steps we are instructed to take afterwards if complaints are not heard, but instead far too many times, the body of Christ has swept things under the rug. It’s only by knowing the truth that we can be set free and by doing exactly what God has revealed as His way of resolving conflicts. Coming together and speaking the truth IN LOVE is what will bring understanding and reconciliation, but hitherto, most of us have not been able to speak the truth in love because it requires maturity to do this.

Brethren, the time is short! Judgment comes on the house of God first and if we don’t let the tribulations (crisis) we are facing bring us to our knees,.. if we don’t love our brethren from the depth of our being, we will find ourselves in darkness of understanding, weeping and wailing, ….even ones Jesus will say: “Depart from me! I never knew you!” to. Truly, if we don’t love, forgive and bless each other, then no matter how much we say that we love the Lord, WE DON’T! Our Lord’s prayer was and still is that we be one… that we walk in love and unity with each other. The question is: Will we do it?

We can be sure that if we don’t, we’ll have more than our pants on fire!