Why should you keep your word?

A Story by someoneuknow

Lithuanian folk wisdom says that a given word is sacred. From an ethical point of view, keeping your word encourages a person to live a meaningful and fulfilling life, because you not only gain the trust and respect of others, but also do not deceive yourself. This is how we, as individuals, ensure justice, gain wisdom and achieve inner peace. So, why should you keep your promises?
Failure to keep your word can threaten a person with the loss of a dear person. Before promising plans or ideas to others, a person should act thoughtfully, think about the consequences and remain cool-headed. By implementing such a strategy, many avoid mistakes and remorse. This is well reflected in the myth "Orpheus and Eurydice", which tells the story of how Orpheus, a legendary musician and poet, loves his wife Eurydice, and after losing her, decides to bring her back from the world of the dead. He succeeds, but after breaking the agreement not to look back, he loses her again. Orpheus tried with all his might to win back love, but after giving in to desire, he ultimately fails to achieve his goal. Thus, rash decisions or broken promises have painful, long-term consequences that weaken us morally and destroy our values.
Breaking a promise dissolves the boundary between human and a beast. People can detach themselves from their desires and choose what actions to take. Keeping promises reveals our humanity, inner values, maturity, and ability to think. Meanwhile, breaking promises obscures all of this and leads to moral betrayal. William Golding's novel Lord of the Flies tells the story of a group of boys who, after a plane crash, end up on a deserted island. At first, they are united by a common desire to survive and a promise to follow the established rules, because they are British, not savages. However, fear, darkness and hatred quickly overcome the healthy settlement - everything begins to crumble, blood is shed, which dissolves the boundary between human and a beast, and order finally collapses. This consideration is also revealed in a historical context. During World War II, SS doctor Josef Mengele promised children of prisoners of the Auschwitz concentration camp a safe place, but in reality he used the selected ones in inhuman and often deadly medical experiments. Josef Mengele crossed all limits of humanity, using the lives of innocent children and the blind trust of parents to achieve his cruel goals. In summary, breaking a promise is a contempt for the principles of ethics and destroys the values that make us human - worthy of the trust of others and capable of creating a safe society. In summary, it can be said that keeping one's word gives life meaning and fulfillment. By keeping promises, we build the future of a safe, just, cooperative, and trusting society. By not breaking one's word, we find inner peace, because we know that we have not deceived others, and our conscience is not burdened by lies or deceit. We can find these principles I have listed both in the ancient myth "Orpheus and Eurydice", and in the novel "Lord of the Flies", and in the most important events in history, such as the crimes committed in Auschwitz and other concentration camps during World War II. At all times, people have sought to fulfill the promises they made, so that fate would not turn its back with painful consequences.