James series – “The Litmus Test for life”James 5:12

Above all, my brothers and sisters, do not swear—not by heaven or by earth or by anything else. All you need to say is a simple “Yes” or “No.” Otherwise you will be condemned.

Next we see:

• The intentionality of individual integrity

“Just say a simple yes or no” It’s really that simple, isn’t it? Let your yes always mean yes and your no always mean no. Often we hear people talking about the good old days, when a man’s word was his bond and deals were sealed on a handshake. And while the world in which we live has changed, we need to remember that people have always struggled with telling the truth. Ever since Adam and Eve were cast out of the Garden of Eden, we have lived in a fallen world. The reasons we have so much paperwork and contracts today is because people didn’t always honor their word. Because that person in the past didn’t honor their handshake that trusting person got burned. So, to protect himself, he required a little bit more than a handshake the next time. He required a little bit more than a simple “yes” or “no”. Today we have created a culture that trusts in contracts instead of character. But Christ calls us to be people of integrity who don’t try to replace character with contracts. Sure while you live in this world, you will still have to sign and write contracts. You will still be required to put up collateral and have credit checks, but Christ is calling you to be a person of character, who walks out their word so that their yes means yes and their no means no. And the only way to do that is to be intentional about it. Be purposeful, if you tell someone you’re going to do something or be somewhere do it. So why do we break our promises?

1. Overenthusiastic—People who fall into this category have a real hard time saying “no”, especially when it comes to doing something they’re excited about. They tend to say “Yes” before they really think about it because they are excited and want to help. Their enthusiasm causes them to commit to things they can’t carry through on.

2. Overextended—Often when we want to get something done we look to the busiest people because they have a proven track record of getting things done. It’s a well-known fact that in many churches 20% of the people do 80% of the work. Often, we overextend ourselves taking on more than we can handle. We commit to things we can’t complete. Example of guy asking me to disciple him. Are you motivated by God or guilt?

3. Overestimate —Our abilities or time. We make promises based on unrealistic expectations of how much we can accomplish in a given period of time. Sometimes we overestimate our memory. We promised to pray for people only to realize a week later that we have forgotten to pray. It’s easy to say you will pray but are you going to not just make time, but take time to pray? Sometimes I wonder if “I’ll be praying for you is the Christian equivalent to “how are you doing”

We all struggle to walk out our word and keep our promises. How many times have you told your kids, “I’ll be at your game.” And then something comes up at work and you can’t make it. Or promised to help your spouse and failed to follow through? James calls us to be intentional, to let our yes be yes. But there is also a flip side to this coin, what about our no. When you tell your child or grandchild, “no”, can they pester and pester until your “no” becomes a “yes”? When your buddies at work or kids at school try to get you to do something you know you shouldn’t, does your no mean no? Or do you give in to peer pressure? I remember when I told my kids that if they didn’t have their rooms cleaned we were not going to the movies, they didn’t and I was tempted to give in because I wanted to see that movie. But what was more important my word or watching a movie?  We need to commit to keeping our promises even when they cost us. Psalm 15:4b, says this about a person who is pleasing to God, that he is one “…who keeps his oath even when it hurts.” David Jeremiah says that integrity is: “keeping my commitment(s) even if the circumstances when I made the commitment(s) have changed.”