Be Transparent

"But let your, 'Yes' be 'Yes' and your, 'No', 'No'. For whatever is more than these, is from the evil one."                                                                                            Matthew 5:37.  NKJV

Jesus was speaking here about taking oaths - swearing on Heaven or God's name, Oaths were an important part of life back in Jesus' day because there was so much evil around. Therefore, an oath was required to reinforce the truth. There is little difference today. In fact, the evil may be worse. Courts of Law require people to swear an oath before they give evidence. On occasions, an alternative method may be used.

Clement of Alexandria insisted that Christians should lead such lives and demonstrate such characters, that no one would dream of asking them to give an oath. Socrates said similar, 'A man must lead a life which will gain more confidence in Him than ever an oath can do'.

Transparency is the hallmark for what Jesus was saying here. Let your 'Yes' be 'Yes' and your 'No' be 'No'. Being transparent means we have nothing hide. What you see is what you get. Living in such a way leads to people trusting you. They notice that there is something about you, even though they may not be sure what it is. Someone may swear in your presence or tell an unwholesome joke, and all of a sudden, they may turn to you and apologise. Why? because they have recognised you are different. You are transparent and they notice this.

When we lead such lives - lives that speak of Jesus without His name being uttered - people are drawn to you. Some want what you have; there is so much unrest in their lives that they want peace and reassurance. Others may be drawn for other reasons. They want to trick you and prove that Jesus is false and what they believe in is far more powerful. They're very convincing and mostly win a conversation if you become involved. To try and convince them otherwise, can be a road to failure. At such times, they are best left alone. Don't forget, unlike them, we have nothing to prove. 

Transparency lets the light shine through. Do you get the picture? Jesus is the Light of the world. 'I am the Light of the world. He who follows Me, shall not walk in darkness but have the Light of life.' (John 8:12). Again:
'Let your Light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify Your Father in Heaven.' (Matthew 5:16)

So live transparent lives and draw people to yourself. You have something they need!

Copyright 2019 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com