Believe The Yes... No?

“Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform your oaths to the Lord.’ But I say to you, do not swear at all: neither by heaven, for it is God’s throne; nor by earth, for it is His footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. Nor shall you swear by your head, because you cannot make one hair white or black. But let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No.’ For whatever is more than these is from the evil one.” (Matthew 5:34-37)

Ever had this paranoia of making people promise whenever you are going to tell a secret? Felt the urge to make a person promise over and over again, or utter curses that will happen to himself should he violate his promise to keep it zipped?

Jesus always has a higher standard for His followers. During the past, making oaths are common. But with Jesus, He says “do not swear at all,” but “let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No.’ ”

Making oaths “to the Lord” is a very strong oath, because any oath with God’s name in it is legally binding. The tricky part is, any oath without God’s name in it is NOT legally binding! That is why Jesus says do not swear by heaven, or earth, or Jerusalem, or any object, or any place, or any anatomy of your own. Firstly, since such oaths are not legally binding, the maker of the oath is not bound by the law to fulfill it. So why make a redundant oath, or trust in someone who makes such an oath? Secondly, using such oaths will only serve to lessen the credibility of a person’s simple “yes” or “no”. Once it becomes a habit, nobody will believe a person’s "yes" or "no" anymore, because his frequent use of oaths implies that he lies all the time unless an oath is uttered.

Jesus is not forbidding solemn, official oaths. Legal oaths still has its place in the community. Jesus is saying that oaths should not be made in common speech. Making oaths, be it with God’s name in it or not, could be used misused a cover-up for falsehood. Such casual oath-taking suggests that a person’s normal words cannot be trusted.

Therefore, Jesus was imparting a higher standard here. He is telling His followers not to lie under any circumstances, be it under oath, or not under oath. Instead of resorting to making oaths to reinforce truthfulness, it is better to build up an on-going reputation for truthfulness in one’s words. If a person is known to be a man of his word, he does not need to make any strong oaths or promises to add more credibility to his words. His simple “yes” or “no” is believable and trustworthy enough to be taken for what it is.

It is great folly to have a habit of making oaths in common speech. Not only does it imply that a person’s normal speech cannot be trusted. Casual oath-taking will reduce a person’s character as a believable person. Besides, it is not wise to make rash oaths, because God takes into account every oath that is made by the mouth of man. The maker of oaths puts himself under a burden to carry out that oath. Why reduce your own reputation and put yourself under the yoke of oaths? As the bible aptly puts it, “Better not to vow than to vow and not pay” (Ecclesiastes 5:5)

So… I’m going to tell you a secret. Do you promise not to tell anyone? Swear?