My Word is my Bond.

 "Again you have heard that it was said to those of old,' You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform your oaths to the Lord.' But I say to you, do not swear at all: neither by heaven, for it is God's throne; nor by the earth, for it is His footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. Nor shall you swear by your head, because you cannot make one hair white or black. But let your "Yes' be 'Yes', and your 'No', 'No'. For whatever is more than these is from the evil one." 

                                                                    Matthew 5:33-37

    As Christians, we have been called to a higher standard of living. Not because we are better than anyone else, but because we aren't and we recognize we need a Saviour who wants an abundant life for his children. How can we do this? How can we live above the way of the world without developing a spirit of arrogance or pride? How do we speak in such a way that our word is truly our bond? we do this by honoring our speech so much, that we choose to live and do what we speak. The world as a whole has made the act of an empty promise to become common and second nature. The way of the Christian should be in stark contrast to this notion. When someone asks us to do something, and they make us promise, our actions and the way we live our life even when we don't know anyone is watching should give them the confidence that if we say we will, our 'Yes' will be sufficient. if we go through life and only make promises that we have no intention of seeing to completion, we are choosing to live a lie, a life full of false hope, rather than truth. In this portion of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus is telling his followers that it would be better to avoid making oaths altogether, even oaths to God and Heaven, than to make one we cannot fulfill.     

    Eventually, if we make a habit of committing to empty promises, nobody will believe us when we try to speak truth. Our word will be become nothing more than useless babble, and good for nothing. God has done too much for me, as I am sure he has also done for every person who calls him Lord. To then speak about the saving power of God, and it fall to empty ears, we could end up pushing people away from God's love, rather than showing it to them as genuine.         

    I want my life to be one of truth and honesty, from a heart full of compassion and love for the people around me. I don't want the things of my flesh to speak a false truth, when the ultimate truth of creation will always be infinitely more beneficial to everyone who chooses to hear. 

Adam Semple- A Young Man on a Journey Through the Sermon on the Mount