Matthew 5:33-37

³³ “Another example: you have heard that it was said to the ancient ones, ‘You should not swear falsely, but shall perform to the Lord what you have sworn.’

³⁴ But I tell you, Do not take an oath at all, not by the sky, for it is the throne of God,

³⁵ nor by the land, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King.

³⁶ And do not take an oath by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black.

³⁷ Let what you reply be only ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything more than this is from the evil one. _________________________________________

Nothing but the truth

Honesty is one of the ways we can demonstrate our relationship with the LORD in this dark world we have been commanded to enlighten. The world’s dark souls require swearing oaths to accentuate their words because they cannot be taken at their word. But when we gain the reputation of being honest, no one will need us to take any oaths. When we set our standards high enough, people will trust us.

This will not be easy. Many times, as soon as we say “yes,” something will happen to make us want to take that “yes” back. We must be disciplined to stand by our words.

LORD, make us people who can be trusted.