Most of you who know me understand that the title of this devotion would convict me greater than it would any of you. I have never been short on words. Words allow people to see who we are and what is really important to us, but they can also be a stumbling block to others unless we are very careful. James is one of my favorite books in the Bible, and he writes much about when, how, why, and where we are to speak. The verse below deals with our words.
James 5:12 “But above all things, my brethren, swear not, neither by heaven, neither by the earth, neither by any other oath: but let your yea be yea; and your nay, nay; lest ye fall into condemnation.”
It would seem that this verse is out of place with the text, but James has taken our reaction to suffering a step further. We have been told, to keep on keeping on, don’t quit in times of suffering. He instructs us to be patient to not allow our circumstances to dictate our actions. Many times, in James’ writings. he is warning them against the use of the tongue in the wrong way. Certainly, in a time of pain and suffering, we would be tempted to say things that would not be representing Christ well.
The importance of this statement is that we fulfill our oath to God without reservation, which points to James’ exhortation that our “yes” be yes and our “no” be no. Our speech should always be truthful, leaving no doubt of what we mean when we speak. It must resolute with conviction and application so that it can be trusted by others and held accountable by God. The more we talk the greater the risk we will embellish a story. This is just a “flowery” way to lie. Unintentional, maybe, but still a lie. This ought not to be in the life of any Christian.
We are all familiar with taking an oath in court when we testify. James is not telling us that a Christian shouldn’t do this, but he is telling us that we are to have such integrity that our words will not be in question. If a person uses too many words, even swearing, to convince us of his sincerity, that person has something wrong with his character and tries to strengthen this weakness by using many words.
We are to be totally honest so that we do not fall into condemnation. This is being disapproved by men, for not telling the truth, and by God, for being untruthful, and having a bad testimony. Everything we do either builds up our testimony or tears it down.
If you read the book of James you will see how practical his words are to us. He seeks to encourage us in times of suffering, to be patient, as we wait for the Lord to fulfill His purpose in us. We are to use self-control when speaking so that we do not say things that would stain our character. Step by step our walk with the Lord will be strengthened if we handle these situations in this manner. We will have a deep inner peace and our testimony to others will be bolstered greatly!
Excellent