Woe to you, blind guides! You say, ‘If anyone swears by the temple, it means nothing; but anyone who swears by the gold of the temple is bound by that oath.’ You blind fools! Which is greater: the gold, or the temple that makes the gold sacred? You also say, ‘If anyone swears by the altar, it means nothing; but anyone who swears by the gift on the altar is bound by that oath.’ You blind men! Which is greater: the gift, or the altar that makes the gift sacred? Therefore, anyone who swears by the altar swears by it and by everything on it. And anyone who swears by the temple swears by it and by the one who dwells in it. And anyone who swears by heaven swears by God’s throne and by the one who sits on it.

--Parallel verses:
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭5‬:‭33‬-‭37‬
Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not break your oath, but fulfill to the Lord the vows you have made.’ But I tell you, do not swear an oath at all: either by heaven, for it is God’s throne; or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King. And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black. All you need to say is simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.

There are many typical tells of people who are lying or who want to deceive: 1) their eyes redirect or they don’t want you to look directly at them, 2) they want you to make a quick decision without considering the facts or implications, 3) they use phrases like, “I’m not gonna lie …” or “to tell you the truth …”. They sometimes follow up a lie with these statements.

I think there are also tells of people who are u trustworthy in their promises and agreements. They enter into agreements and swear by everything under the sun, but at the first sign of adversity, they back out. In business deals, this happens all the time. Marriages are also frequently dissolved for “not getting my needs met”. Jesus is calling out the casual commitment and the “over-swear and under-deliver” people who operate to take advantage of others.

I love the cross-reference here, simply let your “Yes” be yes, and your “No” be no. I want to build up a reputation of excellence and keep my commitments. Then, my word will matter and stand on its own two feet.

Lord, teach me to value my commitments and only make commitments on things I can follow through on and complete. Go before me and help me to deliver honorably in my work, home, and church commitments.