"But above all, my brethren, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath; but your yes is to be yes, and your no, no, so that you may not fall under judgment." James 5:12
In biblical times, it was common practice for people to make a profession and base its validity on things greater than themselves, such as heaven or earth. Sound familiar? Have you ever heard anyone swear on their mother's grave or their children's lives or some other such thing?
It was also common to make these professions without them being held or understood as binding oaths. Rabbi Akiba taught that "a man might swear with his lips, and annul it in his heart; and then the oath was not binding."(from Adam Clarke's Commentary) To us, it would be like making a promise or a statement and crossing our fingers. We feel that it relieves us of the burden of fulfilling the statement should it be necessary to do so. In short, it is a license to lie.
Beloved, we must be a people of our word. When you are telling the truth, it is not necessary to fortify it and it is not necessary to hedge it. The danger in doing either is one of becoming a hypocrite. Where there is hypocrisy, there is judgment. Let us be people of our word in everything that we do and say.
Loving Like Jesus,
Lee
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