36 Nor shall you swear by your head, because you cannot make one hair white or black. 37 But let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No.’ For whatever is more than these is from the evil one.
Jesus. Matthew 5:36, 37. Hi, it’s Nathan, and this is Day 17 of 30 Days of Growing. Relationships are grounded in trust. Our words are an essential piece of how we either build or undermine trust. Jesus intent for his followers is to be such persons of integrity that no additional steps need to be take to assure another that our word is dependable. It can safely and consistently be assumed that when we speak, we’re good for our word. This isn’t a legalistic rule designed to eliminate innocent play—but rather, a principle of general communication, that says, “You can take what I say to the bank.” Even small things, like promising to be home for dinner, or drop that hat you borrowed, should be honored—or not promised in the first place. The more consistent we are to our word, the deeper and more easily others can trust us—and this is nurturing, life-giving fuel for deep relationships.
