~4 min read
James 5:12
“…we have a big problem with truthfulness…”
James 5:12, But above all things, my brethren, swear not, neither by heaven, neither by the earth, neither by any other oath: but let your yea be yea; and your nay, nay; lest ye fall into condemnation.
Some people have the misconception that James was speaking against taking oaths because he said, swear not….neither by any oath. If that is true, then nobody should take the marriage vows, church membership vows, or vow to speak the truth in the court of law. The reality is that James was not speaking against oath-taking, but rather the abuse of oath-taking.
Today, we have a big problem with truthfulness in our society. People cheat, exaggerate, and flatter with empty, untrue words. People tell lies all the time. One way or another, sinful men and women have difficulties with speaking the truth. When people lie, they want the listener to believe their lies. So what do they do? They make a vow or swear with an oath, to add credibility to their lies. Sometimes they may be speaking the truth. But how can people know they are speaking the truth? How can people know they can be trusted? So they think to themselves, “Well, if I swear, I may make them believe that I am speaking the truth.” These are some of the reasons why people would vow, swear and take oaths, wrongly and unnecessarily, to make their lies believable or to add credibility to what they say.
Dear children, the Bible is not against oath-taking. One day, we may need to take a vow or make an oath, like marriage vow, church membership vow, or vow to speak the truth in the court of law. The Bible is against the abuse of oath-taking. So what must we do? James said, “We must be truthful. What we say is what we mean, and we mean what we say. Let your yea be yea; and nay, nay (which means, yes is yes, and no is no)” We must remember that men may be deceived by our lies, but God is watching. One day, we have to give an account for all our lies. Therefore, always speak the truth, lest ye fall into condemnation.
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