August #jammed: Reflecting on Grace.

Day 225: Keep asking.

“Do not ever swear an oath.” Matthew 5:34

If I had a dollar for every time my kids assured me beyond a shadow of a doubt they did something I asked them to do, my husband and I would be able to retire.

Why is your homework still in your folder?

I thought you said you cleaned your room?

Weren’t you supposed to pick up all of the yard bombs?

I told you to shut the door.

What are you doing?

Matthew knew what he was talking about when he wrote “don’t make an oath.”

oath-a solemn, usually formal calling, upon God -or a god -to witness to the truth of what one says, or to witness that one sincerely intends to do what one says.

An oath isn’t just a promise. As ornery as my kids are, they aren’t swearing to God that they’ve completed their chores …at least, not yet. But, many of us let that verbiage fly out of our mouths everyday without a thought of what we’re actually saying.

What begins with a simple attempt to honor something becomes a tangled up mess of misrepresentation and consequence. Dishonesty doesn’t stand up well to the Truth. And the  Truth, God’s Word, tells us not to “swear to God.” Beyond just curse words, we are called to honor our word by honoring His Word. It’s the premise of honestly committing to something we genuinely thing we can uphold.

“Let your ‘yes’ be ‘yes’ and your ‘no’ be ‘no.'” Matthew 5:37

That’s a seemingly simple solution that is hard to live by amidst the pressure that we put on ourselves concerning our reputation with others, and our pride within. But when we walk with Christ and spend time in God’s Word, the Spirit will strengthen us to straighten out our words.

Father, Praise You for the promises You keep. Thank You for meeting us in Your Word and preparing our hearts to receive it. We confess that we do not always stop to recall Your guidance before we speak, and ask that You send Your Spirit to help alert us. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Get the conversation started by commenting below, and let’s encourage one another as we face life in 2017 armed with grace! 

#greatgrace17

Happy Speaking,

Megs

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