To Encourage You

James 5:12 “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.”

Does it ever bother you that so much that we do in life must be bound by contracts?  For example, if you’ve ever bought a house, how many times did you have to sign your name so that every possible eventuality was covered in writing?  How about when you’ve had any work done by a contractor?  Typically, everything must be bound in writing to assure that what he or she said they would do and what you said you would do would actually be done.  Why do you think this is?  Obviously, it’s because of a long history of people not telling the truth. 

I was involved in a deposition for my work involving an environmental issue many years ago and after I was all done being questioned by the lawyer for the opposition, this same lawyer said something to me that was pretty shocking. He told me, on the side when it was just he and I, that he’s found many times in such court proceedings that witnesses, even under oath, often don’t tell the truth.  Of course, that constitutes a crime, but many people do it nevertheless.  And it’s not just us common people. How often have we seen such practices by elected officials, even up to and including the president of the United States?  Lying: it’s one of the clearest marks of the fallen human condition.  It seems no one can believe anyone, even when a person is bound by an oath.  It’s a matter that the Bible speaks about repeatedly.

One of the most striking examples is in Jesus’ words to the Pharisees from John 8:44: “You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies.”  Jesus was telling them that their tongue betrayed their heritage – for the devil’s native language is lying, and those who follow him speak like him.  Conversely, the Christian, one who claims to be born of the God whose very name is “the Truth” (John 14:6), should speak another language entirely. 

You see, in the first century, which is when the words above were penned by James, the human heart was no different than it is today.  In the Jewish world, the taking of oaths was common, for just like today, a person’s word couldn’t be trusted.  But the Holy Spirit is telling us through James that a believer isn’t to be like this.  Our word is to be our bond. When we say “yes” we should mean yes, and when we say “no” we should mean no.  We shouldn’t be like those who are so deceptive that they say such things as “it depends on what the definition of ‘is’ is,” like one well-known infamous example. 

You see, while a person may not place themselves under the legal penalty of perjury because of some “common every day” lie, there is a judge much higher than that in any human courthouse that hears our every word.  And it is that Judge Who has told us that it is “by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned” (Matthew 12:37).  

So, what’s your native language? What’s the common way that you speak? May God help us who say we follow the God of Truth demonstrate it by speaking as He speaks and never give voice to lies.