They did not believe

1Maccabees 10:46 When Jonathon and the people heard these words, they did not believe or accept them because they remembered the great wrongs that Demetrius had done them in Israel and how much he had oppressed them.

These Maccabees -- it's just battle after battle! This little turn of events interested me, however. The Israelites have just received an amazingly generous offer from one of their enemies seeking an alliance. He wants no tribute, will free all captives and offers to pay for the rebuilding of Jerusalem. But the Jewish people don't buy it. History tells them they can't trust these honeyed words. And it turns out, they are absolutely right!

How often am I taken in by sweet words, promises about the future that don't reflect the reality of past behavior? Or just by stuff that sounds too good to be true? It's not that people can't change; they can, but it's hard and incremental, and until you can see the changes in someone's behavior, even the beginnings of changes, all the promises in the world are just smoke.

And am I guilty of the same behavior? Making promises, even with the best of intentions, that I can't deliver on? Saying what feels good, or makes me looks good, or appeases others, but not what I really mean or believe or can actually make happen? I know that I believe too easily in others' good intentions, but perhaps I also believe too easily in my own. Can I be straightforward and honest at times it would be easier just to go along with the momentum? Or do I set other people up to be exploited, or disappointed, by my too glib promises?

Prayer: Dear God, Help me discern a person's genuine capacity to follow through on their commitments. At the same time, make me more honest in my own promises and commitments. Help me resist the easy promise that doesn't fit with my actual desires or intentions. Make me fearless in speaking the truth, the truth tempered with compassion. Amen