Thoughts for the Day

Concerning Oaths

‘Again, you have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, “You shall not swear falsely, but carry out the vows you have made to the Lord.” But I say to you, Do not swear at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, or by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. Let your word be “Yes, Yes” or “No, No”; anything more than this comes from the evil one.

(Lectionary, New Revised Standard Version)

Thoughts

These words from Matthew 5, on the subject of swearing oaths, might seem odd to us. Firstly, they are not about using swear words when we are angry or upset. It's about taking an oath - a promise if you like - that you will or will not do something. In Jesus' time the taking of oaths was often popular, but some were deemed to be binding promises and some not. The lawyers of the day spent much time working out which oaths had to be kept and which did not.

This was particularly important if you ended up in court for not sticking to your oath. By wording an oath carefully a person could later plead it was not a binding oath. It was thought that it only mattered if God's name was involved, for he became part of the agreement. But there are numerous examples in the scriptures that condemn this. So, Deuteronomy 23.21 says: 'If you make a vow to the Lord your God, do not postpone fulfilling it; for the Lord your God will surely require it of you, and you would incur guilt'. The victim of all this was of course Truth!

God never demanded His people kept their side of a bargain, like the covenants He made with say, Abraham or Moses. It was up to them to honour their side of the contract. To use God's name in a vow to pay someone back a loan, or return the donkey you borrowed from him, was also considered by Jesus to be a false distinction because as far as Jesus was concerned God was already involved in every aspect of a person's life and knew every hair on a person's head (Luke 12.7).

As Christians our word is to be our bond - our promises should be sacred. Anything else comes, Jesus says, "from the evil one".

Almighty God,
may the promises we make to You
be joyfully kept,
and the promises we make to others
be faithfully observed.
Then will the world know
that as a Christian
our word is to be trusted.
Amen.