Can your “yes” be trusted?
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James 5:12 says, “But above all, my brethren, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath. But let your “Yes” be “Yes,” and your “No,” “No,” lest you fall into judgment.”
Some of the people then made it a habit of “swearing” an oath by something in order to confirm that what they were saying was true. They had even gone so far as to say that if they promise based on the temple they had to honor it, but if it was just based on themselves they didn’t have to do what they said they would. James here tells them that they shouldn’t have to swear an oath. If they say, “yes”, then the answer is “yes” regardless of any oaths they might have sworn. His message to them is to tell the truth...always...and stand by your word. We shouldn’t have to swear or promise in order for our word to be true. A simple “yes” or “no” should suffice.
