A Man's Word is his Bond

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After the Israelites enter Canaan, Joshua dies and Judah takes over and they send spies into the land.

"And the spies saw a man come forth out of the city, and they said unto him, Shew us, we pray thee, the entrance into the city, and we will shew thee mercy. And when he shewed them the entrance into the city, they smote the city with the edge of the sword; but they let go the man and all his family."
-- Judges 1:24-25

All right! Be a man of word!
When you say you're gonna do something, you do it!
Like Joe Namath before Super Bowl III in 1967.
Or Scarlett O'Hara at the end of "Gone with the Wind"
(I assume she never went hungry again... there was no sequel to the film, so I guess it all worked out okay after that).

I make a habit of agreeing to do favors for people, when I know I probably won't follow through on them. My wife hates this.
"Can you pick up some eggs and milk today?"
"Absolutely."
[In my head: "...probably not gonna happen"]

I have learned it is better to just be honest...
If you're laying siege on a city and you honestly don't think you can spare the life of a friendly native, just be honest and kill him right then and there.
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