"Don’t run in the house."

"Don’t chew with your mouth open."

"Don’t talk with your mouth full."

"Don’t ask me, ask your father."

"Don’t make me stop the car!"

If you heard those pearls of wisdom, chances are you have heard Mom say, "Don’t swear, it’s not nice!" At the time you didn’t know Mom was quoting a scriptural principle, but she was. Jesus said,

"But I say to you, Do not swear at all, either by heaven or by earth."

I would like for you to envision this scenario. Jesus is a little boy, his mother, Mary just heard him swear. She reprimands him. Jesus answers her but my friend, Jacob said it was OK to swear. To which Mary replies, "BUT I say to you, Do not swear."

It would make a perfect Mother’s Day story if it happened that way, but Jesus was without sin, it couldn’t have happened that way. I would be surprised if Mary, did not teach Jesus not to swear. After all it is a Biblical principle that has its roots in the Old Testament. The Bible condemns making vows or taking oaths casually. It condemns giving your word, knowing you won’t keep it. It condemns swearing falsely in God’s name. Surely Mary would have taught Jesus that the word damn is not a suffix of the name God. Haveing learned these principles Jesus said,

"But I say, Do not swear at all, in the name of heaven or earth."

Just exactly, what does Jesus mean by that?

Is Jesus saying that’s it wrong to say ‘I swear’, even when you are using it as a synonym for promise. If He is, then we are all guilty, particularly if we are parents. For I would guess that all parents have said to their misbehaving child, "I swear, if you don’t stop that RIGHT NOW, you WILL BE sorry when we get home.

Is this swearing wrong? Chances are Jesus would say YES, particularly, if the parents don’t follow through with their promised discipline. I found it very interesting that in a recent survey of some 3,000 high school kids, who were asked to identify 5 problems which are the leading cause of America’s woes today, 47% said, lack of discipline of children and teens.

That says to me parents are saying, Yes, Yes to everything their kids want. OR they are saying No, but after some whining, begging, pleading, and badgering, the parent’s No, becomes YES.

Think about this. What are we teaching our children when we give in to their crying? Or better yet what are we NOT teaching our children when we give in.

"Jesus said, Let you word be Yes, Yes or No, No."

Unlike the way God was portrayed in the grossly inaccurate and Biblically incorrect version of ‘Noah’, which was aired on NBC early this week. God cannot be manipulated by temper tantrums, like that which Noah had on the deck of the ark when God said He changed His mind and that He wasn’t going to save Noah and his family.

God does not renege on His promises. God has promised you salvation, forgiveness, grace, mercy, strength, abundant life. God has promised and so it will be. God’s Yes is Yes. God’s No is No. Believe and trust this truth. Believe and trust and also imitate God’s behavior, as His followers and believers.

Let me give you an example. An elderly Southerner walked into his banker’s office one day. The banker greeted him warmly and then asked, "What can I do for you?"

The Southerner, who was a typical gentleman from the ‘old school’ replied, "Well, about 35 years ago I loaned a man down South some money - not a very big sum. I told him that whenever I needed it I would let him know and he could repay me. The time has come when I need some money, so I would like to let him know. I would like to have you conduct the transaction for me."

The banker said, "My good friend almost fell off his chair in laughter. "Surely you don’t expect to get reimbursed," he said. "You have no claim on that money. The statute of limitations has run against that loan years and years ago. You have no deed, no legal document, no loan agreement."

"Sir," the Southerner replied, "the man to whom I loaned that money is a gentleman. The statute of limitations never runs out for a gentleman."

Sure enough, when the banker made a formal request for the money, it came in reasonable time. With it was a note; ‘Thank you. I hope I have the privilege of returning the favor some day.’

Wouldn’t it be great if we lived in such a world. When a person’s word was his or her word. One’s hand shake is no longer a binding contract. Unfortunately we live in a society when one’s word of honor, is all too often questioned. Today we need legal documents, signed contracts, and the assistance of the legal profession and the law to have those contracts carried out.

The story of the Southerner reveals the true meaning of Jesus’ words.

True Christian character does not seek to escape from a promise. Rather, it reflects our Master whose Word to us is always reliable and never changing.

Like God’s Word, which is completely reliable. Your word should be completely reliable. Your word should be supported by your actions. If you mean what you say. If you do what you say. If you live what you profess to believe, then there should be no reason for you to ever swear.

"But I say to you, Do not swear at all, either by heaven or by earth. Let you word be Yes, Yes or No, No."

AMEN

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