The Epistle of James - Godly Values
Part 38 - Honesty
James 5v12
15th March 2019
James has been writing about persecution and injustice, and assuring us of God's perfect justice which will be done when Jesus returns. He has urged us to be patient in the face of abuse. He has instructed us not to grumble against each other, because that too is a form of abuse. He has encouraged us to demonstrate the same sort of perseverance while suffering as was shown by the prophets and, particularly, by Job, who unjustly lost all he had. Now he writes:
James 5v7-12
Above all, my brothers, do not swear – not by heaven or by earth or by anything else. Let
your 'Yes' be yes and your 'No' no, or you will be condemned.
This is connected to what James has just written because, like grumbling, speaking dishonestly is a form of abuse - a sin - that we are particularly prone to when we ourselves are suffering abuse. When we've been hurt, and we're afraid of being hurt more, it's easy to fall to the temptation to grumble, and to the temptation to tell lies.
James surely has in mind this saying of Jesus:
Matthew 5v34-37
But I tell you, do not swear an oath 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 you 'Yes' be 'Yes' and your 'No'. 'No'; Anything beyond this comes from the
evil one.
A person's tendency to lie can be seen in his willingness to say "I swear by this", or "I swear by that". When someone says, "I swear on my mother's life" or "I swear by Almighty God", or "I swear" by anything else, they're really saying, "This part of what I'm saying is actually true." This, of course, implies - and tacitly admits - that something else he said was not true.
A Christian should not need to swear, because a Christian should be honest all the time. We should be people that everyone else knows don't tell lies, even when in difficulties. We don't have to say, "I swear this or that or the other thing" because we're people of integrity - or we should be.
Never tell lies. Never repeat lies. Never invent lies. Always be honest (you might be mistaken, but that's a different thing from being dishonest).
God is faithful and true. God is merciful, generous and compassionate. God has 100% integrity. We should be the same, as far as we can, with the help of the Holy Spirit, and with one another's encouragement.
Can you imagine Jesus telling a lie? Then let's be honest like Him. Also, let's be honest because then people will know we're honest. This is one way we should be different from the society around us. We don't need to protest that we're being honest now if people know that we're always honest.
Then other people will learn that they can trust us. And then they may believe our Gospel message, and be born again into God's wonderful kingdom. If we're going to preach the kingdom of God, we should live kingdom lives, with honest tongues.