Promises - Never Break Them In A Relationship
What is a promise? It is a pledge or an assurance given by one
person to other that he/she will act exactly as promised. The
other person can rest assured that the promise will not be
broken under any circumstances. In this case, circumstances word
is very significant. Because even if the promise is made in
total sincerity, the circumstances are taken as an excuse for
breaking them.
At times, the cost of keeping the promise unbroken can be very
high. But no matter what is that cost, the breaking of a promise
is a bigger sin. By breaking a promise, we hurt the other party.
We kill the faith of the other party in humanity and its words.
One must think about the value of the promise for the one to
whom it was made. Why do we promise something to someone?
Because both the parties agree that if the promise is broken,
the other person will be hurt. Why is the promise accepted? The
promise is accepted only if one who makes the promise is
believed to be a truthful and honest person. No one believes
upon the promises made by liars.
Let us look at a scenario. Say, a wife makes a promise to her
husband. The wife is going out for a long period and the husband
is promised that whatever may be the temptation, or need, she
will never indulge in any activity that hurts him. The husband
takes his wife's word as a gospel truth and feels very happy and
proud about her. What if she breaks the promise at the first
opportunity? What if she lies to him about that, after he gets a
hint that she has broken the promise? And what if she defends
herself about breaking the promise and lying by accusing the
husband and asking him if he never lied or broke a promise?
Imagine the hurt she will give to her husband with her action.
If he is a simple and innocent person who believes that everyone
in the world is like him? He will be devastated forever. Even if
the wife breaks the relationship after breaking the promises, so
that she does not have to explain her conduct and feel sorry
about that, she would have succeeded in breaking not only a
promise, but devaluing a honest person in all the possible ways.
I don't know if you believe in hell, but if there is one, this
wife will be sent to that hell forever. This example talks of a
wife. This is equally true about husbands, and even amongst
friends. A promise is sacrosanct. To break a promise given to a
honest person, who has accepted that promise in all sincerity is
like hitting a small kid repeatedly. Why I use the repeatedly,
because whenever the husband remembers about the broken promise,
he will experience the same hurt again. He will be a changed
person forever, and doomed to live a life of pain that overflows
from his heart.
Some people are childlike and they still believe that the world
is full of truthful and honest people. They have yet not
realized that the reality is contrary. If one makes a promise to
such a person and breaks it easily as if it never mattered, one
may not be hauled before the court of law for killing a person's
spirit, but the crime is equal.