Let Your Word Be Your Word

As Jesus continues to elevate the personal standards of behavior that should characterize those who have entered the rule and reign of God, he turns his attention to the important subject of truthfulness in speech. Evil entered God’s good creation through a lie, and it wasn’t long before lying became common practice for those navigating life in a fallen world. In distinct contrast to God and God’s nature, who is truth, and who places a premium on absolute truthfulness. But surrounded by a world in which falsehood and dishonesty are so prevalent and pervasive, it is easy for God’s people to be lulled into apathy toward the inherent evil and destructive consequences of deceit, rather than standing as beacons of light and truth in a dark and dishonest world. Like so much of the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 5:33-37 comes as a wake-up call, in an important message entitled, “Let Your Word be Your Word”.