05/23/2025
The New King James Version (Mt 5:33–37)
33 “Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform your oaths to the Lord.’ 34 But I say to you, do not swear at all: neither by heaven, for it is God’s throne; 35 nor by the earth, for it is His footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. 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.
As simple as this may seem to be, it is obvious that saying what you mean and meaning what you say is difficult. There are several layers to this but one aspect surely deserves attention.
One point of contention seems to be the word "no".
Truth is, "no" is a complete sentence & "no" is NOT a bad word.
We have to stop verbally agreeing to things that we don't agree with in our hearts, just for the sake of keeping the peace. This is evil, not peaceful.
Think about it: this practice of saying "yes" when you mean "no"...
It creates a bigger problem than just saying "no". It might delay the problem. But it makes it worse. Just say "no", if that's what you mean.
