Christians debate whether or not it is proper to put his or her hand on a Bible and swear to tell the truth in a court of law. Sorry, I won’t try to tackle that question here. I will, however, make a point, one much more likely to affect one’s life in the immediate future.

Jesus said, But let your statement be, ‘Yes, yes’ or ‘No, no’; anything beyond these is of evil (Matthew 5:37). Jesus clearly commands us to always tell the truth. There should be no need for us to have to take an oath or swear. Our keeping our word, or not keeping it, goes to the core of our integrity, reputation, and honor. I submit that in our current society too many of us, yes, Christians, even pastors, do not take this command seriously.

We are all busy. We have too much to do. I get that, but being busy is no excuse not to follow through on things we commit to. This applies to major undertakings as well as to the trivial ones.

We are all subject to losing our homes, cars, jobs, and everything else, but if we lose our godly reputation, we have lost everything.

Proverbs 22:1 says, A good name is to be more desired than great wealth, Favor is better than silver and gold. It doesn’t take long to lose one’s reputation. It is very difficult to restore it. Scripture says it is worth more than material goods, even gold or silver. I remember, some years ago, I had an appointment with a pastor. I drove a great distance to meet him. He never showed up. I called him, he apologized, and we rescheduled. He didn’t show up again. Now this is where I get stupid. I agreed once more to meet him. You know the rest of the story. Now, if someone asked me if I thought this pastor was trustworthy, what could I honestly say?

We live in a fallen world and legitimate things do come up that prevent us from completing a commitment, but let’s be honest, we can do better. I want to encourage you, encourage me, to keep our word. We are under oath at all times. And, trust me, the world is watching.