WANTED: PEOPLE OF HONESTY AND INTEGRITY

MATTHEW 5:33-37

INTRODUCTION

            In Boardroom Reports (7/5/93), Peter LeVine writes, "When the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey ran a help-wanted ad for electricians with expertise at using Sontag connectors, it got 170 responses; even though there is no such thing as a Sontag connector. The Authority ran the ad to find out how many applicants falsify resumes."

In The New Doublespeak: Why No One Knows What Anyone’s Saying Anymore: author William Lutz defines a few of the more creative doublespeak terms currently in vogue:

·        Meaningful downturn in aggregate output (recession)

·        After-sales service (kickback)

·        Resource development park (trash dump)

·        Temporary displaced inventory (stolen goods)

·        Strategic misrepresentation (lie)

·        Reality augmentation (lie)

·        Terminological inexactitude (lie)

Copy Editor (Oct/Nov 1996)

          The Sweet Soul Café newsletter included this list of “Top 10 Liars’ Lies”:

          10. We’ll stay only five minutes.

       9. This will be a short meeting.

8. I’ll respect you in the morning.

            7. The check is in the mail.

            6. I’m from the government and I’m here to help you. 

            5. This hurts me more than it hurts you.

       4. Your money will be cheerfully refunded.

       3. We service what we sell.

            2. Your table will be ready in just a minute.

1.     I’ll start exercising (dieting, forgiving) tomorrow.

I.                  THE PROHIBITION OF FALSE OATHS AND VOWS VV. 33-36

Jesus’ theme of greater righteousness continues but this time He moves outside the Decalogue (the Ten Commandments). As with His teaching on divorce, Jesus again forbids what the Old Testament permitted. The question is this: “Has Jesus come to destroy the Law?” Has He come to abolish the Law as some of the religious people might have charged Him? Let’s see what the Law said about oaths and vows (Exodus 20:7; Leviticus 19:12; Numbers 30:2; Deuteronomy 5:11; 6:3; 22:21-23; 23:21. The Mosaic Law forbade irreverent oaths, light use of the Lord’s name, and broken vows. Once Yahweh’s name was invoked, the vow to which it was attached became a debt that had to be paid to the Lord. In their desire to get around the high demands of the Mosaic Law, the scribes and Pharisees had classified certain oaths as binding and others as not binding. They had come to deny as binding any vow, which did not mention the name of God. Jesus, however, saw through this charade or deception and demanded that a person’s word be good at all times. The real issue at stake is honesty and integrity. In other words, when you become a disciple of Jesus Christ you are under obligation to live the truth and speak the truth at all times. But the scribes and Pharisees who paraded themselves as righteous were circumventing the laws of God. Jesus offers a scathing denunciation of such kind of circumventing of God’s laws (Matt. 23:16-22).

          To swear in verse 34 does not mean to curse or use bad words or language. Rather, it means a person who affirms the truth of a statement while calling on God to judge oneself if it is in fact untrue. Does verse 34 mean that Christians should refuse to take an oath in a court of law? The Anabaptists refused to take an oath in a court of law. The Jehovah’s Witnesses refuse to take an oath of law in a court of law. But this is not what Jesus is teaching in this passage. If you and I are not guided by the Spirit of God and allow Scripture to interpret Scripture we can twist Scripture to justify our own rebellion against authority. There is nothing wrong in a Christian taking an oath or a vow before a court of law to speak nothing but the truth. The Old Testament teaches that God swore or took an oath (Gen. 22:16). Jesus was put under oath by the high priest during His trial (Matt. 26:63-64). The apostle Paul took oaths (Rom. 1:9; 2 Cor. 1:23; 1 Thess. 2:5; cf. Phil. 1:8). This is what Jesus is saying: “If oaths designed to encourage truthfulness become occasion for clever lies (white lies) and deceit, Jesus abolishes oaths (v. 34). If you do not swear at all, then you do not swear falsely. Jesus insists that whatever you swear by is related to God in some way, and therefore every oath that is taken is implicitly in God’s name—be it heaven, earth, Jerusalem, and even the hairs of your head are all under God’s sway and ownership (v. 36). There are allusions here to Psalm 48:2 and Isaiah 66:1-2. Jesus is saying that you and I who are citizens of His kingdom are to be so genuine, honest, and true that we do not have to add any words of assurance to our promises. In the day of Jesus oaths and vows were common, but Jesus is telling you and me and any of His disciples for that matter that we are not to use oaths and vows to back up what we say. He says that your word alone is enough. Are you known as a person of your word? Are you known as a person of honesty and integrity? Truthfulness seems rare that we think we must end our statement with “I promise.” If you are person of integrity, you will have less pressure to back up your words with an oath or promise.

          We live in a society where people don’t want you to speak or tell the truth. The plain fact is that we don’t like the truth. Our credo is “You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you squirm.” You want your bosses to like you so you flatter. You call it polishing the apple. Jesus calls it a lie. You want people to admire you, so you exaggerate. You call it stretching the truth. Jesus calls it a lie. You want people to respect you, so you live in houses you can’t afford and charge bills you can’t pay. You call it the American way, but Jesus calls it living a lie. You see, “a lie is like a little pregnancy—it doesn’t take long before everyone knows.”

II.               THE PROMINENCE OF PRACTICING TRUTH V. 37

Let your yes be yes and no, be no. This means that all words are binding and words of Christians need no buttressing or support. Jesus says that any addition to your words to sooth or sugarcoat what you have said does not proceed from the Lord but the evil one. James, the brother of Jesus teaches the same truth in James 5:12. Why is it difficult to speak the truth and practice the truth? Mark Twain said, “A lie can travel half way around the world while Truth is still lacing up her boots.” The problem with lies is that it finds its source in the evil one, the devil. Jesus said the devil is the father of all lies (John 8:44). Recall also that in the believers’ preparation for spiritual warfare, the first armor that a believer has to put on daily is the belt of truth. Therefore, if your life is made up of lies, then you are no threat to Satan, in fact he considers you as one of his own because he is the father of lies. Satan finds it impossible to tell the truth.

The society in which we live sometimes compels us to lie, but we should know whose we are. Sometimes our spouse or family wants us to lie. Listen to this story about a husband and his wife:

“A husband received a call from his wife just as she was about to fly home from Europe. “How is my cat?” she asked. “Dead.” “Oh, honey, don’t be so honest. Why didn’t you break the news to me slowly? You’ve ruined my trip.” “What do you mean?”

“You could have told me he was on the roof. And when I called you from Paris, you could have told me he was acting sluggish. Then when I called from London, you could have said he was sick, and when I called you from New York, you could have said he was at the vet. Then, when I arrived home, you could have said he was dead.”

The husband has never been exposed to such protocol but was willing to learn. “OK,” he said. “I’ll do better next time.” “By the way,” she asked, “how’s Mom?” There was a long silence, then, he replied, “Uh, she’s on the roof.” The fact is that we don’t like the truth. Those who court friendship with falsehood (lying) find it difficult to pronounce words like confession and repentance.

          Ananias and Sapphira represent just how much we humans do not trust the truth. They sold a piece of property and gave half the money to the church. They lied to Peter and the apostles, claiming that the land sold for the amount they gave. Their sin was not in holding back some of the money for themselves; it was rather in the misrepresenting the truth. Their deceit resulted in their deaths. Luke the Physician, the author of Acts writes, “The whole church and all others who heard about these things were filled with fear” (Acts 5:11). Does your tithes and offering reflect the income that you make? Some people refer to Ananias and Sapphira’s episode with a chuckle and say, “I’m glad that God doesn’t still strike people dead for lying.” I am not sure He doesn’t.  I am still certain that the wages of deceit is still death. Not death of the body, perhaps, but the death of:

ü A marriage—Falsehoods are termites in the trunk of the family tree.

When you went to marry the lady you told her you were a doctor, but when she came she found out that you were a cab driver.

ü A conscience—the tragedy of the second lie is that it is always easier to tell than the first.

ü A career—Just ask the student who got booted out for cheating or the

Employee, who got fired for embezzlement if the lie wasn’t fatal.

ü Faith—the language of faith and the language of falsehood have two vocabularies.

          The most tragic death that occurs from our deceit is our witness. That is why many Christians cannot share their faith; they cannot tell what Christ has done in them, for them, and is doing through them, because they have not parted company with deceit or lying. The court won’t listen to the testimony of perjured witness. Neither will the world. Do you think your coworkers will believe your words about Christ when they can’t even believe your words about how you handled your expense account? Even more significantly, do you think God will use you as a witness if you don’t tell the truth?

          Many years ago a man conned his way into the orchestra of the emperor of China although he could not play a note. Whenever the group practiced or performed, he would hold his flute against his lips, pretending to play but not making a sound. He received a modest salary and enjoyed a comfortable living.

          Then one day the emperor requested a solo from each musician. The flutist got nervous. There wasn’t enough time to learn the instrument. He pretended to be sick, but the royal physician wasn’t fooled. On the day of his solo performance, the impostor took poison and killed himself. The explanation of his suicide led to a phrase that found its way into the English language: “He refused to face the music.” The cure for deceit is simply this: face the music. Tell the truth. Some of you are living in deceit. You have never given your life to Jesus Christ, but because you have learned how to pray, how to sing, how to speak the Christian lingo, how to pretend, you have assured yourself that you are a candidate for heaven. I have news for you. You can pretend and deceive me and everybody, but on that day I will not be the one standing at the entrance of heaven, and if you are not covered with the blood of Jesus and you don’t have the seal of the Holy Spirit on you, guess what? The door to heaven would be slammed at your face.

          This is a test that you can take about lies and deceit. Ask yourself, “Will God bless my deceit? Will He, who hates lies, bless a strategy built on lies? Will the Lord, who loves the truth, bless the business of falsehoods? Will God honor the career of the manipulator? Will God come to the aid of the cheater? Will God bless my dishonesty and my lack of integrity?” I don’t think so. Perhaps the secret to the unanswered prayers of many Christians finds its root in the practice of falsehood. Examine your heart. Ask yourself some tough questions. Am I being completely honest with my spouse and children? Are my relationships marked by candor? What about my work or school environment? Am I honest in my dealings? Am I a trustworthy student, an honest taxpayer, a reliable witness at work? Why do you have to swear to support any statement that you make? Don’t be like the man who came to his pastor and complained: “Everyone thinks I am a liar; the pastor replied, I don’t believe it.” Do you tell the truth always? If not, start today. Don’t wait until tomorrow. The ripple of today’s lie is tomorrow’s wave and next year’s flood. Start living and telling the truth today. The Bible says that all liars will not inherit the kingdom of heaven, because their names are not found in the Lamb’s Book of Life. Be just like Jesus. Tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth.


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