Friday, October 2, 2009
Matthew 5:33-34, 37 "Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, 'Do not break your oath, but keep the oaths you have made to the Lord.' But I tell you, Do not swear at all . . . Simply let your 'Yes' be 'Yes,' and your 'No,' 'No' . . ."
THE SIMPLE, GENERIC TRUTH
Generic products sometimes carry the stigma of being cheap. But, when it comes to drugs, it makes sense to buy generic. What matters isn't the packaging, but what the product actually does.
The same thing is true of promises. What matters isn't the outward packaging, but what the person actually does.
At the end of His earthly life Jesus found Himself standing before the Jewish supreme court (Sanhedrin). Many false witnesses had come forward in an effort to get Jesus condemned and executed. It wasn't working. It seemed like the Sanhedrin would fail to get Jesus killed. But then the High Priest asked Jesus if He was the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One. Without hesitation Jesus replied, "I am . . . And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven" (Mark 14:62).
Jesus signed His own death sentence by refusing to lie and by telling the truth. Because He NEVER told a lie, and suffered for our every lie, our lies have all been forgiven, erased, washed away and forgotten--by God the Father.
Because Jesus never lied and never broke an oath, God the Father restored His Son to glory. Now He lives our Risen Savior--forever. So why should we do anything but tell the truth--in love and with gentle humility? He has already made us His own forgiven children. He will continue to bless us as we follow His example. Let's live free from lies, and true to God.
What we need to be is more generic in what we say. Not cheap and flimsy, but simple, without manipulative decoration and exaggeration.
