Warriors Arise: November 18, 2023
Matthew 5:34-37 But I say to you, do not swear at all: neither by heaven, for it is God’s throne; nor by the earth, for it is His footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. Nor shall you swear by your head, because you cannot make one hair white or black. But let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No.’ For whatever is more than these is from the evil one.
What point is Jesus trying to say? Swearing is useless. It doesn't add value to what is being said. When one swears that they will do something, it generally means they aren't going to do it. Otherwise, they wouldn't have to swear to try and convince the hearer that they are doing to do it. The hearer already does not believe the swearer anyway. So, swearing reenforces the hearers belief that they won't. Therefore, swearing is nonsense.
The point: Just be honest. All people want is for you to answer their question. Will you do what I have asked your to do or will you not? If you say you will not do it, are you going to come back later after I have done it and say, "Oh, I was going to do that."?
Letting our 'Yes,' be "Yes," and our 'No,' 'No,' takes paying attention to our responses. We do not realize how many times we tell people we will do something and we don't get around to it. Then when we get on a rant and say we will never do such-and-such, but then they see us doing the very thing we said we wouldn't do, minimizes our integrity and undermines our character.
All Jesus is saying, is for us to think before we speak and evaluate if we will or won't. After evaluation we would know if we truly will do what we commit to doing or we are positive we are not going to be doing what we said we wouldn't do. We have to be honest with ourselves before we can be honest with others. Therefore, we have to think before we speak.
I get myself into overload at times because I will commit to something before I will have thought about it. Because I said, "Yes," I have to follow through. I allow it to hurt enough so I remember to think before I respond the next time. As a mother, when I over commit, it doesn't just affect me, it affects my husband and our children.
Flipping the coin, there are things I have said, "No" to and really wanted to say, "Yes," but I was afraid. I had to search out my fear and expose it. I didn't want it to hold be back from something I really wanted to do. Either side of the coin identifies an individual's character. Can a person trust you to do exactly what you commit to?
Father, I want to be a person of deep integrity. I want to commit to the things that will be in line with Your destiny of rme and my family. I look to You for the answer. I do not want to be overloaded with things I have committed to because I didn't seek You nor think before I spoke. I ask for You to come and minister Your wisdom to me. I want my, "No," to be a true, "No," when it is something I should not be involved in. I do not need distractions. However, if I have said, "No" to something that I should have said, "Yes," I pray I would be humble to acknowledge my wrong, check to see if fear is holding me back and make myself available. I ask for You to guide me. I ask for my mind to think before I speak to my, "Yes," is "Yes," when it needs to be and my "No," is "No" when it needs to be in Jesus' name amen.
A Warrior in the Lord’s Army,
Veridee Joy Hand
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