Commitment - Oaths

Greetings Dear Reader,

“An oath is a solemn commitment that often involves invoking a divine witness and is relative to future behaviour.”   We primarily see oaths from those entering the military, law enforcement, medicine, and politics.  All of our national Presidents have taken this oath:

“I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.”

The presidential oath is taken most of the time with his hand on a Bible.  The public nature of this type of commitment should be inviolable.   Oaths and vows deal with future actions.  We promise to do or not do something.  We give assurances that the thing that we are being entrusted with will be completed faithfully.

So much of an oath is related to acts of faith.  We are bound to act in the promised way for the duration of the time we are entrusted with the office or duty.  I wonder if we understand the full weight of that type of commitment.  Since we cannot foresee all circumstances we are promising to act a certain way no matter what happens.  This is a serious faith based commitment.

I am not talking about faith in God.  It is faith in our own fortitude that is involved in an oath.  I will do “X” no matter what happens with “Y”.   This is not only binding it is open ended.  It does not surprise me that Jesus cautioned us about swearing oaths.  It is not that we should not take them but that we should understand the full weight of them.

It keeps coming back to personal integrity.  I must be complete in my loyalty to the words I say.  I must be honorable and honest.  I must be the one who governs my actions so that they adhere to my word.  An oath is making clear that to which I am saying “yes”. 

Wishing you joy in the journey,

Aramis Thorn

Mat 13:52 So Jesus said to them, "That is why every writer who has become a disciple of Christ’s rule of the universe is like a home owner. He liberally hands out new and old things from his great treasure store.”

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