“Yes,” said the businessman.

“So it is confirmed?” I asked.

“Yes,” he repeated.

“Absolutely certain?”

“Of course.”

“Can I depend on your word?”

He looked offended. “What do you think I am?”

I did not answer. I waited three days and discovered what he was.

His yes had meant perhaps. His absolutely certain had meant unless somebody offered him something better. And his word had apparently been spoken in invisible ink.

There was a time when a person’s word was enough. Deals were made with a handshake. Promises were not wrapped in twenty pages of legal language. A man did not need three lawyers, two witnesses and a video recording to prove he had said yes.

Jesus said in Matthew 5:37, “Let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No.’” James repeats the same teaching in James 5:12. Scripture understood something that our modern world has forgotten. When words lose their meaning, trust disappears with them.

Yet honour has not vanished completely. It appears at Rotary meetings, recreational, social clubs and social gatherings.

“I am a man of my word,” says the gentleman proudly, adjusting his tie.

He arrives punctually for the committee meeting. He pays his club dues. He fulfils every promise made to fellow members because he wants them to say, “There goes an honourable man.”

Then he reaches his office.

There, his word removes its tie, changes into slippers and goes to sleep.

Payments promised for Monday arrive three months later. An agreement made over the phone is suddenly forgotten. A supplier who trusted him is told, “You should have taken it in writing.”

Strange, is it not? Honour is displayed beautifully in places where reputation matters, but disappears where money is involved.

Should honour not matter even more in business?

I’m seeing many business groups being formed. But a business group should not merely be a gathering where people exchange cards, eat snacks and recommend one another. It should be a place where a yes carries weight and a no is spoken honestly.

If you cannot fulfil a promise, say no.

If circumstances change, explain.

But do not keep another person waiting while your word hides behind excuses.

Your word is not just a collection of sounds. It is your character stepping out of your mouth. It is also a testimony of your faith, your religion.

Contracts are necessary, but character is greater. A signature can bind your hand, but honour binds your heart.

The true gentleman is not the one whose word is trusted inside the club, temple or church. He is the one whose word is trusted outside it, especially when keeping it costs him something.

So let your yes mean yes and your no mean no.

Otherwise, please remain silent.

At least silence does not break promises…!

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