Day 20 - 21 Days of Prayer & Fasting

SCRIPTURE:
12 But above all, my brethren, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath. But let your “Yes” be “Yes,” and your “No,” “No,” lest you fall into judgment.

LESSON:
James is actually quoting the words of Jesus where he says:
33 “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.’ 34 But I say to you, do not swear at all: neither by heaven, for it is God’s throne; 35 nor by the earth, for it is His footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. 36 Nor shall you swear by your head, because you cannot make one hair white or black. 37 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)

So how do the words of Jesus and James apply to us today? One of the most basic life lessons Tamela and I try to teach our children is that they should always be honest. The truth is paramount for all aspects of our lives! “For whatever is more than these is from the evil one.” What a strong statement about keeping your words and your interactions truthful! 
You see God IS the truth. Jesus said he is the truth, the life and the way. He has sent us the Spirit of truth who will guide us into all truth. James declares that with God “there is no variation or shadow of turning.” He doesn’t play in the shadows. He doesn’t fudge the truth. His words are true. Whatever he has promised he WILL do! Guaranteed!  

God cannot lie, (Titus 1:2) so adding to God’s word or adjusting the truth based on our circumstances or desired outcome goes against God’s very nature! The basis for the statement that “anything more is from the evil one” comes from Genesis and the garden of Eden. The serpent is the one who first questions whether God’s word is true. He puts the doubts in Eve’s mind. The reason honesty matters is that honesty, transparency and truthfulness are intrinsic to God’s nature. While dishonesty, deceit and untruths come straight out of the pit of hell itself.
 
How many times have I spoken an untruth? Too many times to count. It’s amazing how quickly lies pop out of our mouths! My kids seem to be set to that default! If they get caught in disobedience or if they feel like it might benefit them in some way they tend to lie. I try so hard to help them understand that lying will be much worse for them than just being honest. I want them to develop a habit of steadfast truthfulness in their lives.  I have watched as deceit has gotten people fired, unraveled families, destroyed relationships and imploded churches. Why is it that we think it is better to lie than to just be transparent and real? Proverbs is clear that whoever “covers his sins will not prosper, But whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy.” And yet we rush to cover up, spin the truth, and justify our false narrative. We put a false self forward in order to impress others or when we need to push our narrative of events.

What is a false self? It’s a misrepresentation of who you really are. A partly true image but just slanted enough to lead someone to think differently about you than they would have if they could see the whole picture. I am not suggesting that we have to share all our dirty secrets one hundred percent of the time. I believe an HONEST partial self is fine to present to the public. But if we are purposefully spinning the truth to create a false self we are only causing ourselves grief. And we’ll never be able to find genuine friendship or community as long as we portray a false self.

The false self always causes problems. We act more righteous than we really are which causes others to look at us as hypocrites. Our jumbled web of half-truths and outright lies creates a barrier of mistrust. And our relationships suffer because we aren’t being genuine. True fellowship is found in the truth. It’s found in honest conversations. It’s found in brokenness and humility. It’s found in real, genuine relationships that are based not on a facade but on reality!
 
Several years ago I had someone who I love very much, betray my confidence in a dramatic way. Not only had they been portraying themselves as someone different than they were, but they also spread lies about me. Even going so far as to lie about me right to my face. I was shocked and dismayed! I was angry and hurt! How could this be? I thought that we had a relationship built on some form of mutual trust and respect. But that false reality was blown away as I realized what was actually happening. God has healed some of those wounds and restored some of that relationship. However, it is very challenging to have a deep relationship with someone who you can’t fully trust.

Ultimately, relationships and truth are connected. Not only our relationships with each other but also our relationship with God. This is why liars will have their place in the lake of fire. They cannot enter heaven and dwell in God’s presence. Deceit cannot and will not be tolerated in the presence of a holy, righteous God of truth.
 
God’s desire for us is that we are people of the truth. A people saved and forgiven through faith in Jesus, who walk according to his word through the power of the Spirit. And as part of that he wants us to speak the truth. Let our yes be yes and our no be no. Not living a false self but rather being genuine, authentic representations of his grace.

PRAYER:
Father, help me to be a person of the truth. Help me to speak the truth in love. Help me to be genuine and authentic to those around me. Keep my lips from speaking evil and my mouth from telling lies. Guide my steps by the light of your word. And help me to keep in step with the Spirit of truth. May my yes be yes and my no be no. Restore any relationships that my false self has damaged. Thank you Father! Amen!