Have you ever experienced feeling very disappointed as a child because your mom or dad failed to fulfill a promise? How about as an adult? Well, I did today. I felt not only disappointed but deeply hurt when I learned that the long overdue adjustment in the salaries of the supervsiors which my boss promised to sign during our meeting before the year ended was put on hold. The HR Department informed me that he needed more comparative studies. I not only felt hurt but embarassed too because when he verbally approved it, I relayed the good news to the supervisors in our last meeting for the year. If as an adult I felt this way, how much more a child who finds a promise as something sacred.

The Little Prince in Antoine de St. Exupery's story said, "When you promise to call, make sure you don't forget. When you promise to come at four o'clock, make sure you come on time. Because I remember your promise and I look forward to it, and when you don't call or come on time, I am disappointed." As parents we must always remember that a child has a short memory. But when it comes to promises, he often doesn't forget.

Fr. Simplicio Apalisok Jr. in one of his sermons said that a promise is a link between the now and the future and between the giver and the expectant receiver. Keeping promises nurture relationships; breaking them, erodes relationships. When we fulfill our promises, we cement our ties; when we fail to keep it, expect to lose it in time.

Adults are like children too when it comes to expecting promises. Promises, especially the little ones, mean a lot. Candies, toys, flowers, a gift, watching a movie, eating dinner...these seemingly insignificant things matter. Come to think of it, would people actually expect us to keep our extraordinary promises when we cannot do the easier ones?

Credibility is an aggregate result of being true to our promises. I guess people will readily give their understanding if we fail to deliver our difficult promises. But they would certainly be less accommodating with our incapability on delivery to their mind, our common and plain pledges.

The sad consequence of the saying "promises are made to be broken" is that relationships are likely to be broken when we often break our promises. By keeping them, relationships would be established and fostered. We become credible and honorable people only because we were considerate to meet the expectations of others.