12 But above all, my brothers, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or by any other oath, but let your “yes” be yes and your “no” be no, so that you may not fall under condemnation.
Interesting little verse tucked in among the "big" topics. Very similar to Jesus' teaching on the mountain (Matt. 5:33-36). James puts the essence of Jesus' teaching between "above all" and "condemnation". It seems that James considered swearing something to be extremely risky. Swearing or taking an oath connects your well being with the anchor of the oath. Breaking your oath carried a cost. Here the cost seems to be condemnation. The only one who can condemn is God; thus it seems that God considers oaths and swearing something special as well. While we are seldom "sworn" into office, we probably promise stuff all the time. From my perspective a promise is very much the same as an oath. "Cross my heart and hope to die" is a common swearing/oath that kids say. What do you think? Are promises and oaths the same? Should we be cautioning our children about their oaths?
- Why does James consider this command to be above all the others that he has stated?
- How does this command impact "swearing in a witness", "swearing into an office", etc.?
- How does this command impact "taking the oath of office"?
- In what way does swearing or taking an oath put you at risk of judgement?
- Why has this little admonition been seemingly ignored in the recent past?
Interesting little verse tucked in among the "big" topics. Very similar to Jesus' teaching on the mountain (Matt. 5:33-36). James puts the essence of Jesus' teaching between "above all" and "condemnation". It seems that James considered swearing something to be extremely risky. Swearing or taking an oath connects your well being with the anchor of the oath. Breaking your oath carried a cost. Here the cost seems to be condemnation. The only one who can condemn is God; thus it seems that God considers oaths and swearing something special as well. While we are seldom "sworn" into office, we probably promise stuff all the time. From my perspective a promise is very much the same as an oath. "Cross my heart and hope to die" is a common swearing/oath that kids say. What do you think? Are promises and oaths the same? Should we be cautioning our children about their oaths?
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