Matthew 5:33-37 | James 5:12
This might be the most immediately-accessible commandment from Jesus thus far! We will have multiple opportunities to practice it today alone: just say it like you mean it. This isn’t an invitation to be brash or stupid, but is certainly an imperative to be forthright and honest. (It should be said that there are many other imperatives to be coupled with such forthrightness including gentleness, compassion, kindness, and love.)
We humans come up with all sorts of ways to cement what we say or commit to: contracts, vows, promises, hands on holy books, recordings, stenography, meeting minutes, small print, NDAs, even “swearing to God.” Jesus has none of it. He simply says: let your yes be yes and your no be no.
Christian ethicist Stanley Hauerwas says, If you are a Christian, you have nothing to lose, so you might as well tell the truth.1 That’s something to think about, isn’t it? What a refreshing world, community, church, household, or relationship it would be if we could just be so straight up with one another. Jesus seems to think it not only possible, but necessary.
Matthew 5:33-37
“Again you have heard that it was said to those who lived long ago: Don’t make a false solemn pledge, but you should follow through on what you have pledged to the Lord. But I say to you that you must not pledge at all. You must not pledge by heaven, because it’s God’s throne. You must not pledge by the earth, because it’s God’s footstool. You must not pledge by Jerusalem, because it’s the city of the great king. And you must not pledge by your head, because you can’t turn one hair white or black. Let your yes mean yes, and your no mean no. Anything more than this comes from the evil one.”
James 5:12
Most important, my brothers and sisters, never make a solemn pledge—neither by heaven nor earth, nor by anything else. Instead, speak with a simple “Yes” or “No,” or else you may fall under judgment.
Prayer
God,
Help me to tell the truth. I don’t mean to simply not be a liar, but help me tell a truth. Help me tell a truth that is beautiful, compassionate, helpful, honest, worthwhile, and just. Help me life a truth that looks like Jesus by looking people in the eye with care and curiosity. Keep me from passive aggression (active aggression, too!).
Give me your eyes for the people I see today.
By your Spirit & in Christ, Amen.
Stanley Hauerwas. Hannah's Child: A Theologian's Memoir (p. 133).