The Ministry of "Yes" and "No"

“Do you solemnly swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, and you will keep secret all of the proceedings of the grand jury conducted in your presence? So help you God.”

If you were to take an inventory of relationships that you have with people, and then consider who of those people you trust you might find a common thread. Those people who you do not trust more than likely have done something either to you or someone you know to jeopardize that trust. And to add to that, what usually makes a person untrustworthy is their inability to keep their word. To keep their promise. To do what they said they would do. Now, if there is such a person that you can think of, now consider what God has to work with when he considers us as trustworthy.

God knows our heart, our motives. God understands that we will mess up and He keeps on blessing us anyhow. However, God is not pleased with our tendencies to act without integrity, beginning with our commitments to God and each-other.

If I promise all of the members of the GMPBC that when I win the Power-ball to give everyone something, most will believe me. It could happen. But then I actually win and y’all don’t see a dime you might be understanding and say well that was his money, he can do what he wants with it. But, what If when I made the promise I said, “I swear to God…” or “God is my witness...” then you have greater reason to be offended by my behavior. Or better yet, if I borrow some money from you and “I promise to God that as soon as I get paid, I’ll pay you back” but then you see me in a new car and without your money, you might have reason to be offended.

The point of Jesus is not to forbid making promises, or taking marriage vows, but not to leverage your religious or personal credentials as a means to accept you at your word. Integrity matters. A simple yes or no is sufficient in all things.

This next antitheses that Jesus gives is one that is not immediate identifiable as relevant to us. We hear this and think it goes without saying, that we should swear by God, or heaven, or the like. We understand this by our common appropriation of the commandment “thou shall not take the LORD’s name in vain”. So, we try to watch our mouths when we combine God and cursing, well at least at church on Sunday’s anyway. But, Jesus is not simply critiquing the misuse of that command. He is addressing the practice of lying in God’s name for the purpose of manipulation.

Religious Jargon ≠ Spiritual Reliability

The practice of the religious, especially the religious leaders was to make public their religious commitments by leveraging the name of the LORD to back their claim. So you see in movies or literature people saying, “i swear by the gods” This was a way to make your promise more reliable. The here is the issue, lying is still a thing. That just because you say one thing does not mean you are going to do what you said. Utilizing religious talk and spiritual sayings does not validate who you claim to be. Yes, religious vocabulary can be a sign of maturity but it can also be a weapon used to hurt people.

It binds you to something you may change your mind about later. (Jephthah Judges 11)

It can make you a hypocrite.

God does not require it of you.

Heaven doesn't belong to you.

False Humility ≠ Personal Credibility

He then says don’t even swear by your own head. Meaning, since you don’t even have the power to keep from aging, what credibility do you have to use your life and lively hood to make your case. Do not use your life as collateral. Have you ever seen the movie life?

Presentation of mare than you are.

For show?

Learn “No”

Jesus is about to free some of us now. In the duration of this antitheses, the position has been of the oath made, the commitment to, and the covenant of. All of these he forbids are types of affirmations of agreement. So, in regards to your word “yes” is sufficient. And now Jesus gives us more good news, that you can also say “No”. You don’t have to always say yes, “no” is a powerful word.

The more you say “yes” the more people will require of you, the more you practice “no” the more people will leave you alone. And I get it, it is difficult as a kind hearted person and and a Christian who loves thy neighbor, but “no” doesn’t make you less kind or less loving, it just means you also are kind and loving to yourself.

And as always, when I need an example I look to Jesus the author and finisher of our faith. The bible says that he is the Amen. In him all the promises of God are Yes and Amen.