When I was a teen I was a "greaser", a rebel. I had the "pegged pants", leather motorcycle jacket, belonged to a car club, played in a 50's Rock n' Roll band, slammed a few beers, and dated the "chicks". It was a typical life, right out of the movies, and real. In the 60's I had the second chopper motorcycle in our city. My buddy "Spesh" (nickname for Special) brought his custom chopper back from California and I went wild over it. We all did. Within several months about 10 of us had choppers. The cops never saw one before and just didn't know what to do about us. It was comical, really! But, I digress. Back to the topic at hand.

One thread ran through our lives back then - "a man's word is his bond". This applies to women, too. My Dad would say - "If your word is no good, you are no good!". No matter what we did, no matter how much trouble we got into, that one thing could not be avoided - Word! We could pull all kinds of tricks, even lie when needed, even bend the Law when needed but that one thing could never be broken - giving one's word. It was never to be taken lightly, ever!

Giving one's word was a trap, of sorts. It was a trap because, once your word was given, and no matter to whom it was given, it had to be kept - period! It was how we were measured among our friends, relatives, and loved ones. It determined our reputation as someone who could be trusted or not trusted. It opened doors when kept and slammed them in our face when broken. So, what does this mean to today's teen?

Truth is a habit and so is giving one's word. These are habits that will serve anyone who develops them, serve that individual for a lifetime. They apply in every facet of life, especially in loving relationships and, of course, in our careers. A mate wants to know we can be trusted and we want to trust them in return. A boss wants to know he/she can promote us or confide in us. The only way to build trust is to keep one's word.

A businessman friend of mine had a rule about giving one's word. We were in his office one day, he ran a used car lot, when a friend of his came in and needed to borrow some money. My friend Johnny was glad to do it but said this to him - "Now don't tell me your going to pay me back at the end of the month and not pay me. If you don't pay me when you say, I'll never lend you another dime. I'd rather you tell me you don't know when you can pay me back so I won't be disappointed." This was a great lesson for his friend to learn and one you should learn as well. Be careful what you promise to do.

By now you're wondering what this has to do with the Family Name, right? Well, it's simple really. When you break your word or get into trouble with the law for that matter, you are telling everyone that you have lousy parents. Maybe you do but do you really want everyone to know that? Do want them to hear your family name and think - "liars, can't be trusted"? What is worse is if you have really loving and caring parents. You will damage the good name they spent a lifetime building.

Do you want someone to tell your boss about your habit of breaking your word? You know how nasty office politics can be. Why give your enemies an excuse to kill your chances for success? Do you want to disappoint your significant other by not keeping a promise and destroying the trust between you? Breaking your word will do just that!

Jesus, of the Bible, said - "Let your Yes be Yes and your No be No. Everything else comes from the evil one". Pretty strong stuff, eh? James, of the Bible, said - "The tongue is the most evil organ in the body". Wow! And, in another place in the Bible it says - "Life and Death are in the power of the tongue".

Let me ask you - Do you want to be someone everyone can count on, can trust? Do you want to be someone that people confide in with their secrets? Do you want to be someone that anyone would feel comfortable loaning money to?

Keep your word!