Friday; July 14
When Jesus was instructing His earliest disciples He did some teaching about making vows or taking oaths. The concept was simply that a person’s word should be good enough on its own – disciples shouldn’t have to “swear” to make something believable. In summarizing His instruction He said, “ But let your statement be, ‘Yes, yes’ or ‘No, no’; anything beyond these is of evil.” (Matthew 5:37) Over the last few days I have found myself contemplating this concept. No, I am not routinely swearing oaths or taking vows, but I am discovering that the more I talk the more dumb stuff I say. Rarely do I get in trouble for saying too little, but on several occasions I have made the mistake of saying too much. When I talk too much I tend to be insensitive to others and I am apt to discuss things that are superficial at best. The more words I use the more I am tempted to focus on myself and the less influence I seem to have on others. We live in a time and place where we have ample oppo