“Again, you have heard that was said to the men of old, ‘You shall never swear falsely, but shall perform to the Lord what you have sworn.’ But I say to you, Do not swear at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, or by earth, for it is His footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. Let what you say be simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything more than this comes from evil.”
Matthew 5:33-37
To “swear” means two things in our world today. It either means to use foul or inappropriate language. Or it means to promise something by using strong language either against something, for something, or against oneself. Swearing either to God or against God does not honor the name of God. Hence, Jesus warns that we should not swear in any way, not use the name of the Lord casually or with a superficial oath. All oaths are superficial, in the sense that we can’t really vow to do anything in the world. Because of our sinful nature, every oath will actually fail. For instance, if I swear to never eat ice cream, and then I eat it, I have violated an oath. If I swear to God that I will never eat ice cream, and then eat it, not only have I broken my word to myself, but I have broken an oath to God. Swearing to God about ice cream, or anything else is actually disrespectful and in the case of the ice cream, downright silly.
When we give the “oath of office” to the Parish Council or another church ministry where such a thing is required, we do it with the word “affirm,” because an affirmation is a pledge to make an effort, and leaves room for grace when the effort comes up short. An oath leaves no room for error. It is more practical to affirm something before God than to swear before Him. Any kind of oath is going to be superficial, even if it is made with sincerity. That’s because there is nothing we can “swear” or “vow” that we can actually keep. It’s one of the same reasons why you don’t hear a bride and a groom making vows at a wedding. There is no vow that can be kept, because everyone is imperfect. Rather, the presence of a couple before God affirms their desire to be married, and the marriage is consecrated by the grace of God, grace that will complete what is lacking and heal what is infirm down the line in the relationship, since every human relationship will be found lacking at times.
While the words of Jesus in these few words may seem negative, as pertains to oaths, it is encouraging when it comes to speaking the truth and keeping promises. In Matthew 5:37, He says “Let what you say be simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’. This echoes what we read in the Epistle of St. James, where he writes, But above all, my brethren, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath, but let your yes be yes and your no be no, that you not fall under condemnation. (James 5:12) And in Revelation 3::15-16, we read, in regard to the church in Laodicea: “I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were cold or hot! So, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold not hot, I will spew you out of My mouth.” There is a lot of warning against taking the stance of “maybe” when it comes to truth or promises. Jesus tells the Jews, in John 8:32, “You will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.”
Truth is not subjective. It is not a matter of opinion. The world encourages us to speak “my truth” and to respect “your truth” and somewhere in all of this, THE truth gets lost. We are to speak the truth, which is Christ. Again, going to the scriptures, Jesus says in John 14:6, “I am the way, and the truth and the life; no one comes to the Father, but by Me.” We don’t come to Christ, or to God, by swearing to God, or swearing an oath. We come with sincere affirmation, genuine effort, and by following God’s truth. A promise we make is a commitment, with the realization that we still need grace to cover over the holes in even the sincerest of commitments. Anything else, as Jesus says, comes from evil.
Lots of people overpromise and underdeliver. I know because I am guilty of this at times. And it is not even necessarily malicious. I have had instances where I overcommit, or schedule too many things thinking I can get to them all and when the day comes, I am late for most of them. This is a work in progress, and hopefully I am improving in this domain. But even worse is an overpromise and an under-delivery in relation to God, to proclaim faith and love in God but never make the time to pray, or set aside time to worship, to forget to be grateful and generous. Thankfully, I have not made an oath to God. I affirm belief in Him each time we recite the Creed, and I also affirm in myself and to Him that I can and should be giving a better effort than I am. It is very tempting to couch something in a shade of “maybe”, yet the Lord desires truth, even if it is a “no.” We must tell truth, which is black and white, not grey. That doesn’t mean that every moment and event in life must reside on one pole. However, as concerns faith, obedience, and our relationship with Christ, yes is yes and no is no, and there should be nothing subject about that.
Remember, O Lord, in David’s favor, all the hardships he endured; how he swore to the Lord and vowed to the Mighty One of Jacob, “I will not enter My house or get into My bed; I will not give sleep to my eyes or slumber to my eyelids, until I find a place for the Lord, a dwelling place for the Mighty One of Jacob.” Lo, we heard of it in Ephrathah, we found it in the fields of Ja’ar. “Let us go to His dwelling place; let us worship at His footstool!” Arise, O Lord, and go to Thy resting place, Thou and the ark of Thy might. Let Thy priests be clothed with righteousness and let Thy saints shout for joy. For Thy servant David’s sake do not turn away the face of Thy anointed one. The Lord swore to David a sure oath from which He will not turn back; “One of the sons of your body I will set on your throne. If your sons keep My covenant and My testimonies which I shall teach them, their sons also forever shall sit upon you throne.” For the Lord has chosen Zion; he has desired it for His habitation; “This is My resting place forever; here I will dwell for I have desired it. I will abundantly bless her provisions; I will satisfy her poor with bread. Her priests I will clothe with salvation, and her saints will shout for joy. There I will make a horn to sprout for David; I have prepared a lamp for My anointed. His enemies I will clothe with shame, but upon himself his crown will shed its luster” Psalm 132
Point to ponder: Are you a person who makes a lot of promises? And if so, are you diligent and faithful in keeping them?
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