I Swear...

“But above all, my brothers, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or by any other oath, but let your "yes" be yes and your "no" be no, so that you may not fall under condemnation.”

 (James 5:12 ESV)

Years ago, I had gotten into a strange habit when speaking to others. I would often begin my answer to a question with the phrase “to be honest.” I think it was my dad who caught me on this. Half joking, he once said to me: “So the rest of the time you’re not honest?”



His point was plain. I do tend to be a very honest person. I won’t claim perfection, but generally this is the case. And, because this is true, why would I need to utter such a phrase? I should simply speak honestly all of the time, and people will know what to expect from me.



The same thing is true when it comes to taking oaths. Many of us are in the habit of swearing. We’ll say things such as: “I swear to God,” or simply, “I swear.”



Now, there are times when taking oaths is acceptable and even good. When we are serving as a witness at court, we are sworn in. Public officials will take an oath of office. Service members are required to take an oath. And we should not hesitate to do so in a circumstance such as this.



However, when it comes to our daily conversation, and when it comes to our day to day commitments, oaths are not necessary. There is nothing to be gained by making them. We should make every effort to lead an honest life, we should make every effort to honor our word, rendering them unnecessary.



As James says it above, we should let our yes be yes and our no be no. We should mean what we say and honor the commitments we’ve made. And, being truthful people, these oaths will be unnecessary. Knowing that we are trustworthy, people will take us at our word.



There will be times, of course, where we forget a commitment we’ve made. There will be times when, for good reason, we change our mind. But these should be the exception rather than the norm. And we should be willing to apologize and give reason for this change when it does occur.