{"id":6381,"date":"2015-04-16T02:12:38","date_gmt":"2015-04-16T02:12:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.firstofallpray.com\/?p=6381"},"modified":"2015-04-16T02:12:38","modified_gmt":"2015-04-16T02:12:38","slug":"james-512-do-not-swear","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.firstofallpray.com\/?p=6381","title":{"rendered":"James 5:12\u2014Do not swear"},"content":{"rendered":"

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.<\/em> James 5:12<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

But above all, my brethren, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath…<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Jesus said something very similar to this in the Sermon on the Mount: \u201c\u2026I say to you, make no oath at all<\/strong>, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, or by the earth, for it is the footstool of His feet, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. Nor shall you make an oath by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. But let your statement be, \u2018Yes, yes\u2019 or \u2018No, no\u2019; <\/strong>anything beyond these is of evil<\/em>\u201d (Matthew 5:34-37).<\/span><\/p>\n

The Lord said, \u201cMake no oath.\u201d James said, \u201cDo not swear.\u201d Both of these words, \u201coath\u201d and \u201cswear\u201d, are the same Greek word, omny\u014d<\/em>, which means \u201cto affirm, promise, threaten, with an oath\u201d (see http:\/\/www.blueletterbible.org\/Bible.cfm?b=Jam&c=5&t=KJV&ss=1#s=1151012<\/a>).<\/span><\/p>\n

Why would this be such a big deal to the Lord and other writers of the Holy Scriptures? Does He not want us to make promises or enter into covenant with others?<\/span><\/p>\n

I believe the central issue here is integrity. People often \u201cswear to God\u201d or \u201con a stack of Bibles\u201d or make oaths of outrageous declarations such as I swear on the life of my firstborn<\/em>. If you swear to God and do not fulfill your promise, your oath is meaningless\u2014you can\u2019t make God do a thing<\/em> about your ill-conceived oath. He doesn\u2019t answer to you! If you swear on a stack of Bibles and don’t follow through, your oath does not change one\u00a0letter in\u00a0the Word\u2014your oath is meaningless. I swear on the life of my firstborn<\/em>. Oh, really<\/em>? So you\u2019re ready to lose the life of your kid if you don\u2019t follow through? If anyone falls for that, I have oceanfront property near Ferguson to sell them. And how about my personal favorite, Cross my heart, hope to die, stick a needle in my eye<\/em>? That was an oath I often swore throughout my childhood. I broke most of those oaths but never stuck a needle in my eye\u2014and I\u2019m still alive to this day. Lord, help us!<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2026but your yes is to be yes, and your no, no\u2026<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

James started this verse with the words, Above all<\/em>. Above all, have integrity in yourself. Don\u2019t enter into a pattern of outrageous swearing by or on anything<\/em>. Instead, let your \u201cyes\u201d mean \u201cyes\u201d and your \u201cno\u201d mean \u201cno\u201d. And then follow through. Others will start seeing you as reliable and trustworthy, and you will earn the reputation as a man or woman of your word. You won\u2019t need <\/em>to swear extreme oaths to gain someone\u2019s trust.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2026so that you may not fall under judgment.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Again, why is the prohibition against swearing or making oaths such a big deal in the Bible? James answers it this way: so that you may not fall under judgment.<\/em> I know from my vast history of crossing my heart, hoping to die<\/em>, etc., that I rarely kept my promise. And if I was so quick to break my promises<\/em>, I surely wouldn\u2019t keep my flamboyant oaths any better. I may have promised<\/em> to keep your secret about who you liked; I may have uttered cross my heart, hope to die, stick a needle in my eye<\/em>; but if I felt like telling your secret to someone else the next day, all bets were off\u2014I told. And then I made them<\/em> swear to secrecy. I no more hoped to die than the man in the moon! And forget <\/em>sticking a needle in my eye! Without knowing it, I put my little blonde girly self under judgment.<\/span><\/p>\n

Do you realize that adults are very often no better? We may not use the same juvenile terminology, but we are capable of swearing and making oaths, nonetheless. Oh, but the Lord knows my heart<\/em>, we think flippantly; and then we spill the beans on someone who had entrusted us with their deepest concerns. Ouch! This pains me to write; but I get the feeling that so much of the stuff that we brush off as innocent conversation is\u2014in reality\u2014quite destructive. I include myself in that assessment.<\/span><\/p>\n

What should you do if you\u2019ve ignored the warnings\u00a0of Jesus and James and find yourself in a bind with something you’ve unwisely sworn or promised? Psalm 15:4b says this about the man of integrity: “He swears to his own hurt and does not change<\/em>.” You swore it; you stick with it\u2014even if it hurts. That’s a big reason I believe the Lord is so adamant about oaths\u2014He knows they are typically extreme, often hasty, and He wants to protect you from having to face the painful outcome. Whether it’s the agony of following through with a nearly impossible oath or the prospect of being judged for your lack of integrity\u2014it’s best to avoid swearing and making oaths altogether.<\/span><\/p>\n

What do<\/em> we do? We practice integrity. We practice being slow to speak. We check with the Lord before answering. We listen carefully to Him and develop the ability to recognize when we’re starting to run off at the mouth. We practice saying \u201cyes\u201d or \u201cno\u201d, period\u2014no oaths; and we back our yeses and nos with action.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Lord takes us seriously. May we take His<\/em> concerns seriously, as well.<\/span><\/p>\n

Dorothy<\/span><\/p>\n

O Lord, who may abide in Your tent? Who may dwell on Your holy hill? <\/em><\/span><\/p>\n