People had thought it was only about the rules and law and using your head to make a good decision, but Jesus flips it and says that it is what’s in our hearts that matters.
“All you need to say is simply yes or no.” It sounds so easy, yet this seemingly small issue of keeping our word is the one thing we all struggle with the most. I know this because almost every time someone asks about a specific sin the two I always hear is lying and cheating. It makes sense that in one of the most well-known sermons that Jesus ever preached He would have this in there.
Keeping our word or not telling the truth is something that everyone does on a regular basis, but most people would not consider themselves a liar if they were asked. It’s like this underrated sin that everyone knows about, but seems to forget and pushes to the side. And I think it is because of our perspective and selfish nature that keeps us from seeing the truth about this contagious sin. We make the decision based on the outcome. We weigh the consequences and then choose what we are going to say. Typically this is a great way to make a decision, but we act like the result isn’t sin. We think that because it doesn’t really affect anyone or the consequences are not that bad that it doesn’t matter. The problem is that lying is kind of like eating a potato chip. It is hard to stop with just one. And the longer a lie continues the more effects it has on the liar and the people around them. And the crazy thing is that we often start a lie with out even thinking about it, which is a huge problem.
When we start to sin with out even thinking about it, this means that it has moved from the head to the heart as well. This says that we have been selfish and routine so long that our heart is filled with something other than the Spirit. This sermon that Jesus spoke in Matthew 5,6 and 7 is all about the heart. People had thought it was only about the rules and law and using your head to make a good decision, but Jesus flips it and says that it is what’s in our hearts that matters. So we need to ask God to clean our heart like it says in Psalm 51 and begin to fill it with things of the Spirit. This will change the way you respond and react to other people. And hopefully it will be much easier to “let your yes be yes and your no be no”.
