Are you telling the truth?

Make good to the Lord all that you vow, all that you say

"You have heard that it was said to your ancestors,
Do not take a false oath,
but make good to the Lord all that you vow.”
(Mark 5:33)

Jesus sets the stage, and then proposes amending the general understanding of a false oath. His reference is likely from Zechariah 8:17: “Let none of you plot evil against another in your heart, nor love a false oath.” Doubling down, Jesus ruffles the feathers of seemingly solid scripture by adding that we shouldn’t “swear” to anything. “But I say to you, do not swear at all.”

Image by Julita

Speak with total commitment, he seems to say. By listing oaths made to anyone other than God, he mocks them as misplaced. God doesn’t desire us to claim his support in oaths, rather to always speak the truth. Mean yes or mean no, and that’s it. Validating your words with anything more is allying ourselves with the Evil One.

That’s quite a composition of blunt, black-and-white insistence regarding the common practice of swearing to others that we are being truthful.

In the lead-up to Jesus’ comment that we need to make our “Yes mean Yes,” there are some fascinating allusions to common phraseology today. Rather than say, “I swear by Heaven,” as Jesus offers, we are more likely to say, “I swear on my mother’s grave.” That’s a serious thing to say, but Jesus might point out that though our mother is surely a sacred arbiter of truth, our word should stand on its own. We should mean what we say at all times and, therefore, be harbingers of the truth always.

I thought of a legal situation where oaths might challenge Jesus’ intention. At a court hearing, we swear an oath to tell the truth by placing our hand on a bible (or simply raising our hand) before sitting upon the witness seat. I don’t know how many courts still do this, but according to federal laws, it is mandatory.

Also, according to the U.S. Courts Trial Handbook, the practice of taking an oath for juries remains in effect. Each juror must take an oath to decide a case where they sit in judgment, swearing they will present a verdict based only “upon the law and the evidence.”

Here’s the outline of the oath:

“After the voir dire is completed, the jurors selected to try the case will be sworn in. The judge or the clerk will state to the jury:

“Members of the Jury, you will rise, hold up your right hands, and be sworn to try this case.”

The jurors then rise and hold up their right hands. The jurors face the judge or the clerk who is to administer the oath.

That official slowly, solemnly, and clearly repeats the oath. The jurors indicate by their responses and upraised hands that they take this solemn oath.

Jurors not wishing to take an oath may request to affirm instead of swear. In some districts, the jury is sworn upon the Bible and not by uplifted hand.”

In one sense, the juror and witness oath is exactly what Jesus refers to. “Just answer the question, yes or no,” a witness is reminded. In the Catholic commentary of the USCC bible translation, “Oath-taking presupposes a sinful weakness of the human race, namely, the tendency to lie. Jesus demands of his disciples a truthfulness that makes oaths unnecessary.”

A lie has consequences in court, with the FBI, and with our peers at work. Jesus’ point is that living under the temptations of the devil and toying with the option of misleading people aligns us with Satan, not with God. Our lie’s consequence, whether in court or in conversation, is consequential to God.

Beneath and between the words of Jesus, where our waffling mind takes us, comes constant objections about never telling a lie. Would we tell our wives or husbands that their clothing makes them look fat? Would we tell a small child whose friend just moved away that they may never see them again? Would we tell a friend who repaired their own deck that it’s crooked, not tethered properly, and woefully breaking building codes?

Distractions. That's what these loophole objections are meant to do. Frankly, don’t lie in any relationship — with spouses, children, or friends. “Not just a little bit?” Can we see how “just a little bit” takes our eyes off the prize of being aligned with God?

“Then, just be quiet and think your bad thoughts to yourself.” That advice is no better.

“If you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything.” That’s more of a therapy trick than dealing with what Jesus calls us to do.

“Let your ‘Yes’ mean ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No’ mean ‘No.’ Anything more is from the evil one.” (Mathew 5:7)

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