It was a hot, sunny day in the summer of 2018 when my dad, my brother Jordan, and I went to an appliance store to look for air conditioners. Having used only “swamp coolers” for two straight years, my dad decided we needed something more efficient to get us through the long, scorching summers.
“Welcome, welcome,” the man said as we entered his shop. He directed us to sit down, poured steaming Turkish coffee into finjans, and began talking with Dad.
At that time, I was a fourteen-year-old girl. The topic of air conditioner prices did not interest me. I took a sip of the cardamom-flavored coffee and swallowed slowly. It was very strong; nothing like the American coffee Dad sometimes gave me at home. I thought this could use some milk and sugar, watching the foam circle at the top of my cup.
“But that’s not the same price you quoted me earlier. You changed it.” Dad’s frustrated tone caught my attention, and I looked up from the coffee.
“No problem, my friend,” the man said reassuringly.
“There IS a problem. I keep sending my friends to your shop. I’ve been giving you business. Why won’t you give me the price we agreed on?”
The man’s demeanor was quite friendly, but he was unwilling to keep the original price.
“But you’re not keeping your word.”
The store owner did not seem to understand, so Dad reworded his point. “You do what you speak.”
“Oh, yes, yes, yes,” the man said.
Again, there seemed to be no understanding, but Dad was persistent. He spoke slowly, using his hands to show words coming forth from his mouth. “You…do…what…you speak.”
“Yes, yes, yes.”
“What you say, you do. If you say you will sell something for a certain price, you do it.”
“Yes, yes, yes.”
Jordan and I exchanged humorous glances. We were both thinking the same thing. At the moment, Dad could have said absolutely anything, and he would have gotten the same reply from the man.
We left the shop without any air conditioners.
Dad sighed, “There was no way to get him to understand the concept of keeping your word. It’s very simple. You’re supposed to let your ‘yes’ be ‘yes’ and your ‘no’ be ‘no’.”
His frustration lay in a difference in culture. Many Middle Easterners do not function with commitments and deadlines; they live “in the moment.” Everything is about last-minute arrangements and whatever happens to come up. This makes life relaxed, but unfortunately, it also means agreements are not always reliable.
Now, years after the memorable experience, Jordan and I still laugh, thinking of the man in the shop.
I think there is something to be taken to heart. Yahushua lived in the Middle East, just like us. He dwelt in a culture with many similarities to the culture here today. His message to the disciples remains important for all who follow Him. “Let your ‘yes’ be ‘yes’ and your ‘no’ be ‘no’” (Matthew 5:37).
Even among people who don’t understand it, doing what we speak witnesses to the trustworthy character of the Messiah. As His disciples, let us do what we say and say what we do.
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Yes!a great lesson from this story!