James 5:12.
5:12. But above all, my brethren, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath. But let your “Yes,” be “Yes,” and your “No,” “No,” lest you fall into judgment.
Swearing an Oath
Just what is swearing? Using certain words really isn’t so much swearing as it is using vulgar language, which the Bible also speaks about. To curse is to say bad things, or to wish bad things towards someone. The first commandment, to take the Lords name in vain is a form of swearing. James says to let a simple ‘yes’ or a simple ‘no’ be all that we need to respond with.
So with that in mind, to swear is like an added garantee. As if we have the authority to ensure that we won’t fail in some way, or that we won’t do it all the way. Or that in our added words a job will be done better.
When you stop to really consider this, there really is no better answer than to just say, ‘yes’ or ‘no’.
Ready to get confused by double talk? I hope this won’t be to much overload, but it was fun to write.
To say ‘yes’ or ‘no’ is like the binary numbering system. It is either a 1 or a 0. There is no inbetween. There is no number value higher, or lower. Just 1 or 0.
If you ask me for a 1, and I give you a 1, that’s all that needs to happen. There is no need for me to elaborate on how great the number 1 is. Or how much better my 1 is than somebody else’s 1. 1 is 1, and all 1’s are the same. For me to offer any better number is silly, because the only number is1. There is no 1 that is more grand, or more glorious than a different 1. In fact everything inbetween the first sentence of this paragraph, and the last sentence in this paragraph is useless because they don’t make a 1 any better or worse than any other 1. Oops, does that make that swearing? Sorry. To have anything less than 1 is not 1 at all. It’s 0.
To go against this principle leads to judgement. By this it means God’s judgement. Other men could probably care less what your swear was, only that you did a thing, or not. Go ahead and try to justify yourself to who ever you want, to, me, to yourself, to others, it doesn’t matter. But when you are in that moment of facing God the truth, and shame of it will be known. Be honest for your own sake, not what somebody else may think.