Welcome to Prayer Closet Images, the place that you may view the Art of the Artist Joan Dance, while reviewing the content of Scripture detailing the sayings that Jesus gave us on the Sermon On The Mount.
On today, we have for your viewing pleasure the image “Seasons”. In the image we see two women. One of the women is young and the other woman is older. It is possible that the two women are the same woman. While the first woman appears smooth and attractive, the second woman appears to be on her last legs. The difference between the two is the age difference, or the years lived between them.
The second women’s eyes appear to be closing as if she were close to the end. There will be a time when the clock runs out, and between the first image and second image the suggested thing to do is to make the right choices while time is on their side.
The scripture states that by oaths not even one hair on her head can be changed from grey back to black, therefore the oaths are in effect, useless. Let yes be yes, and let no to be no, anything other than these constitute a made up thing or to be put clearly, a lie.
Oaths
Jesus said “It was said to those of old, you shall not swear falsely, but shall perform your oaths to the Lord. 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 are from the evil one”.
Yes becomes Yes
When the question is put to us our answer will be either a yes or a no. Anything other than one of these constitute a construction, or in other words, a lie. Yes is yes.
No Becomes No
If the answer is no, then we say no, it’s that simple. To hew and haw and add to the subject diminishes the thing that is said. The simple things are surely the best. It is best to keep it simple. No means no. No means no indeed.
Swearing Is Useless
Swearing or oath making is useless. There is no need to swear or take an oath. Oaths accomplish nothing. They cannot change the color of a single hair.
Conclusion
The application of righteousness causes our yes to be yes and your no to be no. The ability becomes ours to answer yes or no to all that is encountered by us. We gain the focus to correctly perceive and correctly answer every time. When we are seriously humble in our gifts and talents and in our measure of faith. When we acknowledge and confess our sins, accept forgiveness from God, and then repent of the sin, when we allow God to order our steps in the way only He can. When we love God we know that the world will persecute us for loving God more than we love the world, we love God more nevertheless. We know that we will receive blessings from the Lord for our love of Him, and those blessings outweigh the persecution of the world.
This works out in real life allowing us to see that oaths are useless, we let our yes be yes and our no is no.
Many, many years ago, I would make a promise to my father if he asked me to do something. This was to put off the task until I wanted to do it. My grandmother would say, “Let your yes be yes and your No, No.” She would add, if you don’t plan to do it, just be honest and tell your Dad. That’s how I first heard that verse and it has stuck with me ever since.
I totally agree with you on this one. Giving a simple yes or no should suffice. I think this goes back to your character as a person. If you are someone who is trustworthy, your yes should suffice as a yes, and vice versa. But if you are untrustworthy, you have to over-explain to get people to believe you. My question is, what is you view on taking oaths in courts to tell the truth and nothing but the truth?
Dave,
Thanks for the comment, you have a handle on the saying and the meaning thereof. My take on taking oaths in court to tell the truth and nothing but the truth is that the oath that a person takes swears to God that he or she will tell the truth and that if they lie under oath, then God will punish them and if they are caught in the lie then the court can punish them. Bottom line is that the oath is useless. The oath can not guarantee that the person will tell the truth.