Honesty, honestly
The teaching of
Jesus is so clearly the way things ought to be - and yet how different is the
reality of human history…
"Thou
shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor" and a few passages
about the seriousness of sacred oaths (e.g., Leviticus 19:12, Numbers 30:2, and
Deuteronomy 23:21) were among the strongest injunctions in the Old Testament
for honesty in speech. True to form, Jesus advocates the perfected fulfillment
of those principles, when, quite simply, a person's "yes" would mean
"yes,"and "no" would mean "no," and there would
not be any need of swearing to guarantee credibility.
No
one would disagree, for in this matter especially, the teaching of Jesus is so
clearly the way things ought to be - and yet how different is the reality of
human history, with our own "enlightened" age being no exception! Tragically,
in fact, modern times have witnessed highly publicized equivocation and
prevarication even of testimony given under solemn oath.
But
instead of the hazy honesty advocated and practiced by too many politicians and
media spin doctors, you and I, as followers of Christ, need to strive to live
by His standards of truthfulness. In large matters and small matters, it's
always possible and right to witness with the splendor of the Truth, which is
Christ Himself!