Kingdom of Truth

"It was also said, 'Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.'  But I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of sexual immorality, makes her commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.  "Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform to the Lord what you have sworn.'  But I say to you, Do not take an oath at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God,  or by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King.  And do not take an oath by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black.  Let what you say be simply 'Yes' or 'No'; anything more than this comes from evil. - Matthew 5:31‭-‬37 ESV

Divorce and Oaths seem like an unimportant topic compared to all the other topics that Jesus covers in the Sermon on the Mount. But we should not dismiss it so readily. Controlling your tongue/mouth is much harder than we first imagine it. Lies are a toxic element in our lives. Lies from the strong make is

The call to radical truth

Jesus quotes some old testament text and then summarizes it. Then he adds/explains it further. This is a familiar pattern by now. Many people take this passage to mean that we should never make oaths or vows. But we have many passages of people making vows in the old testament without being corrected or rebuked.

In Jesus' times, there was a book called the mishna. It covered how vows and oaths were done. It created a two tiered system. Some vows had to be kept and some did not need to be kept. This resulted in more lies and deceit. There was two different kinds of wording for promises that had to be kept and others that did not need to be kept. "By Jerusalem" was just a phrase. "Toward Jerusalem" was a bonding vow. This made people who learned how to game the system.

The people of God are to be truthful in all situations. Not just under oath before a court of law. Not just around certain people. The people of God should be truthful all the time so that vows and oaths are unnecessary! Vows speak to how we lie and mislead each other. We do not fulfill our promises; we are untrustworthy.

Our struggle with truth

Exaggeration and overstating is the norm. We embellish when we speak about those we dislike. We exaggerate during our personal stories about ourselves. It is simply knowing one thing in our heart and saying something else. Whether there is ill intent or not, these lies can also hurt those around us. False encouragement is harmful. This puts people in a tough situation because they have a large character flaw or don't have the talent for a particular task/job/career/calling.

Don't make rash commitments. We should not promise not knowing if we can fulfill the promise.

Speak as one who is always under oath. God is always present and as Christians, we represent God to the world.

Regularly remembering what Christ says is true helps you to be truthful.

We are accepted because of Jesus. We are God's children. We are of worth because if what Christ has done for me. Speak the truth because we aren't trying to get, but to give. Give life, give redemption, give correction. Because we care more about them than about their opinion of us.