by Dave Brown
Ye often hear it said ...
Thou shalt not forswear thyself, but shalt perform unto the Lord thine oaths ... (Mt. 5:33)
But Jesus' teaching on this subject is quite clear (Mt. 5:34-37):
But I say unto you, Swear not at all ... But let your communication be,
Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil.
There is no easier way for people to demonstrate their rebellion against God than by their speech. Today our movies, TV shows and common speech are so filled with profanity that we are hardly shocked by common swearing. We should recognize that "every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment" (Mt. 12:36). Woe unto those who use the name of the Lord our God for little other than humor.
But this admonition has more to do with truth and reputation than with idle words. Jesus is saying that we should have no need for swearing at all if we have been truthful in all of our dealings with our fellow man. Truth is a scarce commodity in our society, and those who will restrict their speech to only truth are hard to find. How many people do you know that you can say: I know that when s/he says something it is the truth? More importantly: how many people would say this about you?