Make words meaningful

In today’s Gospel (Matthew 5:33-37), our Lord warns against the swearing of oaths:

You have heard that it was said to your ancestors,
Do not take a false oath,
but make good to the Lord all that you vow.

But I say to you, do not swear at all;
not by heaven, for it is God’s throne;
nor by the earth, for it is his footstool;
nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King.

Do not swear by your head,
for you cannot make a single hair white or black.

But our Lord goes beyond “Don’t do this”:

Let your ‘Yes’ mean ‘Yes,’
and your ‘No’ mean ‘No.’

Anything more is from the Evil One.

What our Lord is telling us is that we need to make our words themselves meaningful, without having to resort to religious or other kinds of hyperbole.

Sadly, especially in this day and age and most especially online, people can throw around all sorts of words, without much thought or concern.

But words can and should mean something.

To use the old expression, we should say what we mean and mean what we say.

Today the major news outlets in the United States and many others are mourning the death of Tim Russert (requiescat in pace): a television network news executive, political analyst, and interviewer. As an interviewer, Russert was notorious for holding interviewees accountable for their words, even words of the distant past.

May you and I choose and use our words well, so that we may give glory to God and share more effectively the truth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.