Again, you have heard that it was said to the
people long ago, “Do not break your oath, but keep the oaths you have made to
the Lord.” But I tell you, do not swear at all: either by heaven, for it is
God’s throne; 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 even one hair white or black. Simply let your “Yes” be “Yes,” and your
“No,” ”No”; anything beyond this comes from the evil one. (Matthew 5:33-37)
These words were motivated by the
Lord’s love for His people. He knew the power of the tongue, of words. He knew
that spiritual forces, good or bad, are activated by words. He knew the
responsibility that one takes by calling the Holy God as a witness. He, therefore, knew the trouble his children could land themselves in by vowing and
swearing.
We play with the evil forces in the
sense that they will eagerly get involved in manipulating our lives according
to our vows. We are in spiritual warfare. In an ordinary war, information or
intelligence is of cardinal importance, because if you know what the enemy is
up to, you are able to get ahead of him or manipulate his next move.
Information gives us power to fight with.
In the same way, if we give the evil
forces anything to fight with, they will use it against us to their advantage.
If we make a vow and can’t keep it, or if we tell a small lie as part of a vow,
the devil will be quick to tell you about it. “You filthy sinner, you call God
as a witness to your lies. What kind of Christian are you?” Often he reveals it
to an unbeliever, and it can become a stinking mess or at least leave you with
guilt feelings. He will also accuse you before God, and then Jesus must cover
for you once again. In a few translations of Ephesians 4:27 we read: “and give
no opportunity to the devil,” (ESV), “Neither give place to the devil,” (MKJV), “And do not give the devil a
foothold,” (NIV), “And don't
give the devil a chance,” (CEV). Do not create a situation where the devil will
have the right to attack or accuse you.
So what must you do if people don’t
want to believe you? It’s quite simple. Just live an honest life with the Lord
as your Master and let your “yes” be “yes” and our “no,” “no.” Then God Himself
will verify the truth of what we’re saying. This is what faith is all about. We
don’t have to cover for God. He can look after Himself. I refuse to take an
oath in any form. The police always have to change their documents if they take
a statement from me because, based on this passage, I object to taking the
prescribed oath. I then make only a solemn declaration, and nobody ever
questions me, because my “yes” is “yes” and my “no,” “no,” and the Almighty
verifies it.
If you have to swear, it creates the
perception that something is wrong with your relationship with God, because you
have to try to prove that you can be trusted. The real problem is that, instead
of relying on faith in God to help you through an inner relationship rather
than an outward vow, you try to do things in the flesh. It is important to
experience God as an invisible, powerful friend who walks with you all the time and
will assist you in whatever situation you find yourself.
For children and adults who are prepared to learn in a childlike way. For more information see http://t-a-c.co.za.
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