The Bible is the ultimate lesson giver. This is certainly true in the story about Jephthah’s tragic mistake, which confirms Robert Service’s truth: A promise made is a debt unpaid.
In Robert Service’s poem, “The Cremation Of Sam McGee,” one line reads, “A promise made is a debt unpaid,” which reminds me of a story told to me by my boyhood best friend and mentor, Jaybird, by far the best storyteller I have ever known.
The old black man had a powerful memory, and never forgot any of the Biblical tales read to him by his children or me, and loved retelling them in his own words.