Uncompromised
Do you always mean what you say and say what you mean?
‘Again, you have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, “You shall not swear falsely, but carry out the vows you have made to the Lord.” But I say to you, Do not swear at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, or by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. Let your word be “Yes, Yes” or “No, No”; anything more than this comes from the evil one. - Matthew 5:33-37
Today's Gospel reading includes this passage about being truthful and honest. Let your yes be yes and your no be no.
No conditions.
I will do it unless such and such. If you agree to this, then I will say yes.
It all comes down to trust, doesn't it? If I trust you to do what you say you will do, then I don't need conditions or waivers.
But if I don't trust you, then all bets are off. There may never be enough stipulations and securities to make me comfortable with the relationship.
God wants us to be straight with Him and also with one another. Yes, but doesn't work with God, and it doesn't work with us either.
I'm not sure I want people to be totally honest all the time. Sometimes I just want to hear what I want to hear, so it might be ok with me at the time to hold back some of the truth. But then how do I know what is true and what is false?
I guess we have to able to handle the truth, and that takes strength of character.
Maybe that's what Jesus is saying we need.
More to come...