Honestly Now

There is great value in simple honesty. Nothing sounds as contrived as nuanced truth. There is what is termed brutal honesty, which tends to point out unseen traits in ourselves that we need to work on. And there is plain honesty, which is simple, uncluttered and understandable. I take plain truth as my topic for the day.

But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil. (Matt. 5: 37)

How many times have you heard somebody “swear by …” or “swear to …”? Why do they do this? Is their word not strong enough on its own that they must swear to its truthfulness by something beyond their control?

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. (James 5: 12)

Our oaths, the things that we agree that we will do, by our word only, must be our bond. There are contracts which are entered into and must be kept. The law states that it must be so. But oaths are more sacred than that. We are charged with keeping our oaths and our promises.

When we examine these verses of scripture, it is reiterated, keep your truth simple. Be plainly honest. There are no nuanced definitions or hidden meanings in words that are plainly honest.

If we say more than yes and no, we risk entangling ourselves in subtlety and guile. We do not have control of the heavens or of the earth - we only control ourselves. At the end of the day, we are left with what we have made of ourselves.

One of the greatest compliments in all of scripture is this:

Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him, and saith of him, Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile! (John 1: 47)

We would do well to emulate Nathanael and speak plainly and truthfully, always keeping our word. There are few things more precious than the trust of another. If we speak truth, and rid ourselves of guile and deception, we can and will be trusted. In these uncertain times, it is good to have friends and associates that we can trust.