Make Your Words Right


But I say unto you, Swear not at all.... But let your communication be Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil" (Matthew 5: 34 & 37).

There are two issues here: honoring God’s holy name and showing integrity in what we say. Too much of the time, our society no longer honors God’s name. OMG is common, even among Christians, but it’s taking God’s name in vain, even if you interpret it as meaning “Oh my Goodness,” for who is good besides God?

Although the Mosaic Law permitted and addressed swearing and oaths, Jesus said not to make them. Once you did so, you were obligated to carry them out, no matter what. You can find a startling, tragic example of this in Judges 11. Jephthah vowed to God that if the Israelite army defeated the Ammorites, he would sacrifice to God the first thing he saw upon his return to his house. That turned out to be his virgin daughter, and he did offer her up as a burnt offering. He definitely would have been better off not making such a vow. 

Promising and swearing are really futile. A person of integrity will do what he says he’ll do. A dishonest person will break his promise or oath. We are to show integrity with our words, as well as our deeds. We should always be truthful and never lie. Some theologians, like R.C. Sproul, say the only exception to this is when a greater moral dilemma is at stake. For example, Rahab lied to the Canaanite soldiers who came looking for the Israelite spies in order to protect them. In my upcoming book Uprooted by War, Leah is faced with a similar problem. She doesn’t out and out lie, but she misleads raiders in order to protect her family during the Civil War. But this kind of moral decision rarely if ever happens in our lives. For us, we should always live by truthfulness.

Like many of yours probably did, my father taught me to do what I said I’d do. There’s a lot of truth in the saying, “A man is only as good as his word.” But we shouldn’t promise, swear, or take oaths (except when required in courts of law). It’s unnecessary and borders of being sacrilegious. God is always present, even if we don’t use his name. It’s better not to promise anything if there’s any chance you might not be able to follow through. Be careful what you commit to. When you say you’ll do something, do it.

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