-- Tuesday, 7/26/11 -- LET YOUR "YES" BE "YES" AND YOUR "NO" BE "NO" -- Matthew 5:33-37

[J.R. & Bonnie Ricks]

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LET YOUR "YES" BE "YES" AND YOUR "NO" BE "NO" -- Matthew 5:33-37

 

“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.”

 

We live in a society filled with conditional morality and situational ethics.  It's okay to cheat on your income taxes, as long as you don't get caught.  After all, the government is wasting our money anyway.  Why shouldn't we keep them from getting any more of it than absolutely necessary?  It's okay to have sex outside of marriage, as long as you practice "safe" sex.  It's okay to yell at your parents.  They deserve it for meddling in your affairs.  It's okay to lie under some circumstances.  You know your boss will be furious if you tell him you overslept, so just tell him you got caught behind a wreck on the freeway.

 

It's thinking like this that has made us a society of people who have to say "I promise" or “I swear” when we want to convince someone we're telling the truth.  People don't stick by what they say any more.  Not too many years ago, a man was as good as his word.  We were able to judge a person's character by how truthful he was and whether or not he consistently stood by what he said.  Now, however, it's only by promising or swearing that people feel they can convince others that they're telling the truth.

 

How faithful are you to your word?  When you say you're going to do something, do you always do it?  How often do you fall down on your promises?  Even the little ones… like, "I'll call you tomorrow," or even more important, “I’ll pray for you.”  Does the other person receive that call?  Does he enjoy the blessing of intercessory prayer from you? Or does he have to wait days for the call that you promised?  And possibly never be prayed for – at least, not by you?  Can your boss depend on your word?  Can your friends depend on your word?  Can your family depend on your word?  Does your "yes" mean "yes" and your "no" mean "no"?

All Bible quotes contained in these devotionals are from the New International Version 1984 (NIV1984), unless otherwise specified.

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