To Tell the Truth

Happy Sunday. Little Jimmy was excited to be on a team. It was his first year to play baseball, and he was all in. He called the coach every day: "Coach, this is Jimmy. Is our practice still set for 3:00 Saturday?" "Yes," the coach would say. "I'll see you then."

Friday night, Jimmy couldn't sleep, he was so excited. Saturday morning he got up early. He went outside to practice throwing the ball with some neighborhood kids. They had to stop early because the storm was coming. Jimmy went inside and looked out the window. It was raining cats and dogs.

At 2:30, Jimmy got his glove and got on his bike and rode to the park for practice. As it happened, the coach lived across the street from the park. He couldn't believe it when he looked out the window. There was Jimmy, all by himself, standing in the middle of the muddy field, rain still pouring down. The coach shook his head, put on his rain gear, and waited out to the little boy.

"Jimmy, what are you doing here? We can't practice today." And all Jimmy said was, "I told you I would be her, coach, so here I am." This world needs more like Jimmy.

Today we look at Matthew 5:33-37. Jesus said, "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 its 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 'yes' be 'yes' or 'no' be 'no.' Anything more than this comes from the evil one."

Now, when Jesus spoke these words, religious leaders had made up an elaborate system of rules that would let you lie without consequences, or so they thought. It was so ridiculous. Some taught that you could swear by Jerusalem but not toward Jerusalem. You could swear by the temple but not by the gold on the temple. You could swear by the altar but not by the gift on the altar.

Jesus had enough, and he began by saying, "Again, you have heard," from the Old Testament, "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.'" Now, that's not a direct quote from the Old Testament. That's not a verse there. It's really a summation of the teaching on speaking the truth.

One verse that is close to this is found in the book of numb, Numbers 30:2. It says, "When a man makes a vow to the Lord or swears an oath to bind himself by a pledge, he shall not break his word; he shall do according to all that proceeds out of his mouth." Sadly, many religious religious teachers invented a way to lie.

Lying is so prevalent in our society. Politicians come to mind, don't they? Saying one thing and doing another, parsing words. I will never forget Bill Clinton parsing words. This is from the Star report after the affair with Monica Lewinsky, and I quote the former president: "It depends on what the meaning of the word is is. If the, if he, if is means is and never has been, that is not, that is one thing. If it means there is none, that was a completely true statement. Now, if someone had asked me on that day, 'Are you having any kind of sexual relations with Miss winsky?' that is, ask me a question in the present tense, I would have said no, and it would have been completely true."

Lying is still an art form today, and Jesus said, "Let your word 'yes' be 'yes' or 'no' be 'no,' and anything more than this comes from the evil one." As a Christian, it's a lifelong pursuit to tame our tongues. James tells us this in chapter 3. He says, "The tongue is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole body, sets the whole course of one's life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.

"All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles, and Street creatures are being tamed and have been tamed by mankind, but no human being can tame the tongue. It's a Restless evil, full of deadly poison. With the tongue we praise our Lord and father, and with it we curse human beings who have been made in God's life likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters," James concludes, "this should not be."

All of us have a choice when we open our mouth. Speak the truth. Keep your promises. Bless God. Bless others.

Pray with me. Father, help our word to mean something. Help the world to be able to count on us, our friends, our family, to be able to count on us when we say something, because we mean it. Lord, this world needs people to speak the truth. Give us the ability to always do that, the boldness to always do that. And Father, let us, our words be words that point to you. In Jesus' name we pray, amen.

God bless you. Thanks for joining me today.