Gas on the Grass

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I’m Doug Apple...and my heart is on fire.  (Luke 24:32)

Not keeping your word is like pouring gas on the grass.

Have you ever accidentally spilled gas on your lawn?  You’ll know if you did because the grass will die a terrible death.

Right now I have a big dead circle in my backyard, and I’m blaming the grandkids.

When we moved into our current home, the previous owner left a lot of random stuff in and around an old shed in the backyard.

One day the grandkids were exploring and dragged an old metal gas can out from under the shed, and proceeded to empty its contents…where?  Not in the dirt, of course, but right on the beautiful grass, and now it’s dead, dead, dead.

That’s the way of gas on grass.  It’s a killer.

I remember the first time I learned this lesson.  We were renting a house and the owner was proud of the lawn.  He fertilized it and gave me just two instructions, “Keep it mowed, and pull any weeds that come up.”  What he forgot to say was, “And whatever you do, don’t try to gas up the mower while the mower is sitting on the grass.”

I mean, it was only like a drop or two of gas, right?  But it still left a distinct dead spot in the middle of his luxurious lawn.

Now imagine this.  The lawn is your reputation, and the gas is when you don’t keep your word.

Not keeping your word is like spilling gas on the grass.  It puts a dead spot in your reputation.

Now imagine what happens if you break your word multiple times.  The lawn of your reputation starts to look spotty.

Now you have to start saying things like, “I PROMISE I’ll be there,” “I SWEAR I’ll do it,” “You can count on me.”

You know what?  People who keep their word don’t have to promise and swear because their word IS their promise.

Let me say that again.  Your word IS your promise.  You should never have to say, “I promise,” because your word IS your promise.

And the bigger the promise, the bigger the dead spot if you break it.

When someone breaks their wedding vows, for example, it’s like pouring gas on the whole lawn.  And then you wonder why it takes so long for people to trust you?  The more gas you pour, the longer it takes for the grass to return, if it ever does.

And remember, gas doesn’t just kill the grass.  It also contaminates the soil underneath.  

When you break your word to someone, it sinks in.  They counted on you, and you let them down, and it sinks in.  And if you do this repeatedly, you aren’t just killing the grass of your reputation.  You are contaminating the soil underneath your reputation, and that’s really bad.

In Matthew 5:37 Jesus said let your “yes” be “yes” and your “no,” “no.”  “For whatever is more than these is from the evil one.”

Proverbs 10:19 says that the more we talk, the more likely we are to sin.

If you find yourself having to talk a lot to convince people to trust you, it’s probably because you have killed your reputation by not keeping your word.

The old timers used to say it this way:  your word is your bond.

And the thing is, you don’t have to say it.  You don’t have to make a commitment.  You don’t have to announce, “I’ll be there at 7 p.m. sharp,” or whatever.

You don’t have to say it, but once you do, you better move heaven and earth to keep your word, because not keeping your word is like pouring gas on the grass.

May God bless you today.

I’m Doug Apple.