Read Matthew 5:33-37
The Words Of A Person Of Integrity Can Be Trusted.
Leviticus 19:12 says if you swear by God or make an oath in the name of God, and you don’t keep it then you profane the name of God.
So over time, the teachers of the law would not swear by God or take an oath in the name of God but would do so in the name of Heaven or by Earth or by some other name, as if to imply, if they didn’t keep the vow or promise, then they didn’t really profane the name of God because they didn’t swear or make the promise in his name.
Jesus destroys such Thinking by saying, “Make no oath at all.” If you say you’re going to do something, then you do it. To resort to an oath in the name of God or in the name of anyone or anything else, implies your words are not always true. This implies you’re not a person of integrity. We should strive to be a person of integrity so that when we say we’re going to do something (do my homework) then we are trusted by others that we are going to do it. If we say we aren’t going to do something (cheat on a test) then we will have the trust of others that you aren’t going to cheat.
If people hear you say something and start to question whether or not you are telling the truth or can be trusted with what you say, then you’ve destroyed your integrity. Let today be the start of God helping you be a person of integrity so that when you say something, it’s trusted as truth. A person of integrity is trustworthy. A person lacking integrity makes a lot of claims but breaks the promises or lies about them. God help us all speak the truth. Help us all do what we say we are going to do. Repair in our hearts what has been broken, in Jesus name. Amen.
