Matthew 5:33-37 NIVUK
33 ‘Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, “Do not break your oath, but fulfil to the Lord the oaths you have made.” 34 But I tell you, do not swear an oath at all: either by heaven, for it is God’s throne; 35 or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King. 36 And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black. 37 All you need to say is simply “Yes,” or “No”; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.
We live in an age of suspicion about what people say – and maybe not surprising when public figures such as politicians and football managers say one thing one day and then do the opposite the next. God, however, calls us to be different, to aspire to be faithful in our relationships, trustworthy and reliable. If we live such a life, all that we say will be reliable, making oaths and promises redundant (all these do is mark out everything else that we say as suspect!)
Father, help us to become people of integrity and to show how we value others by how our lives back up what we say to them.
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