But I tell you, don’t take an oath at all; either by heaven, because it’s God’s throne, or by the earth because it is His footstool; or by Jerusalem, because it is the city of the great King. Do not swear by your head, because you cannot make a single hair white or black, but let your ‘yes’ mean ‘yes’ and your ‘no’ mean ‘no’. Anything more than this is from the evil one.     Matthew 5:34-37 CSB

In the movie, the Comancheros, John Wayne as Texas Ranger, Jake, speaks of the oath he has taken as a Texas Ranger. Jake (Wayne) says this about keeping one’s word, “Words are what men live by, words they say and mean…” God’s holy Word is definitely what we as Christians should live by.

In our Scripture passage, Jesus encourages His listeners not to make an oath. In Proverbs 27:1 it says, “Don’t boast about tomorrow, for you don’t know what a day might bring.”  James warns in chapter 4:13-14 against saying what we will do tomorrow because we are like smoke that appears for a little while, then vanishes. The truth is none of us know what tomorrow brings. We should never promise to do something tomorrow because we don’t even know if we will be here tomorrow. Oftentimes I hear people say, “If the good Lord is willing I plan to do this or that.” That’s the best we can do. My grandmother used to say, “If the good Lord is willing and the creek don’t rise.”

Jesus gives a parable of two sons of a vineyard owner in Matthew 21:28-31. In this parable, the vineyard owner asked one son to go and work in the vineyard and this son refused, but changed his mind and went. He asked the second son to go work in the vineyard. The second son told him he would go, but did not. If you were the vineyard owner which would you prefer? I’d prefer for someone to tell me no, but then do it. It would be a pleasant surprise. For someone to say yes and not do it is simply a let down.

We live in a world where we can’t trust the news reports. There are false prophets filling the airways. Wouldn’t it be nice if people simply meant what they said and said what they meant? You may remember that line from the Dr. Seuss book, Horton Hatches an Egg. We can trust God’s Holy Word.

Christians are supposed to be true to their word. I messed up just this past week. I had agreed to go somewhere with my church and failed to do so.

We need to be more careful when we tell others we will do something. Otherwise we end up like the son who said he would work in the vineyard, but failed to go. This is why Jesus warns us against making an oath. I was taught early on in my career in probation and parole to never make a promise that I couldn’t keep. I needed to be sure I could do something before I promised I would do it.

Now it’s easy to see where the son who failed to report to the vineyard was lying, but when we fail to do what we said we were going to do we use excuses don’t we. Or, at least I do. I always have a good reason. But the bottom line is if we say we are going to do something, we should do our very best to get it done. If you are forgetful or easily distracted like me set an alert on your phone. We have way too much technology these days to fail to remember something important.

If you tell someone you will do something, it’s important. It may not mean much to you, but it may mean the world to them. If you say you will do something, do it. Let your “yes” mean “yes” and your “no” mean “no”. Do your best to not let others down.

We are told in Philippians 2:3 to consider the needs of others more important than our own. We are to put God first. The Bible tells us over and over to love the Lord with all our heart. Our pastor says the way to have true joy is by putting Jesus first, others second, and yourself last.

God’s Word is inerrant and infallible. It is true and it is trustworthy. We should be living by His Word. Others should also be able to trust our word.

Mean what you say, there may come a time when your word is all you have.

Have a great day!