James 5:12

"But above all, my brethren, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath.  But let your "Yes" be "Yes," and your "No" be "No," lest you fall into judgment.

~James 5:12

We have been talking so far in the texts before this one about the importance of humility, patience, and perseverance as well as the dangers of judging others, boastfulness, and self-righteousness. 

This falls right into line with the self-righteous act.

In today's society, to be known as self-righteous is a very negative reputation to carry.  It generally means that you are viewed as being full of yourself.  That you think you are a very good person who does everything so perfectly.  Sometimes right down to the not-so-humble humble act.  People who make themselves a "martyr" or always seem to be the leaders of what is right and what shouldn't be done. 

Evidently there is another way to go about being the best Christian out there.  By swearing in such a way that you have more integrity than the person you are having this honor battle with.  Or perceive to be a threat to your reputation by their very innocence or other such excuse.

I suppose it could look something like this.  "I swear by the holy temple in the New Jerusalem that ... is the right decision to make."  And then someone else would say, "I swear by the Most Holy of Holies that is in the holy temple that... is a better decision than that."  Obviously not so obvious... obviously ;)

The point is simple though.  That you should be able to say what you have to say without backing it up reputationally with important people or fancy swear words in order for people to believe you.

In movies, there is generally that dramatic moment when one person decides to trust the hero when the hero swears on the name of (his kids, his dead wife, his father's grave, etc) something important.  Our character should be solid enough that this is not necessary for others to take us at our word. 

Saves a lot of heartache and drama, don't you think?