I took a break from the Woes Jesus brought down on the religious leaders to concentrate on fasting and Lent. Now that I am getting back into it, I've had to take a step back to really think about who Jesus was speaking to, and this time He is not only pointing out to the teachers of the Law where they're slipping up, He is also speaking to us about promises.
"Woe to you, blind guides! You say, 'If anyone swears by the temple, it means nothing; but anyone who swears by the gold of the temple is bound by that oath.' You blind fools! Which is greater: the gold, or the temple that makes the gold sacred? You also say, 'If anyone swears by the altar, it means nothing; but anyone who swears by the gift on the altar is bound by that oath.' You blind men! Which is greater: the gift, or the altar that makes the gift sacred? Therefore, anyone who swears by the altar swears by it and by everything on it. And anyone who swears by the temple swears by it and by the one who dwells in it. And anyone who swears by heaven swears by God's throne and by the one who sits on it." (Matthew 23:16-22 NIV)
At first I thought this was more about Jesus pointing out how much value they were placing on material possessions, but this has more to do with the promise itself. We spend so much time deciding which promise or commitment is more important than the other, that in the tangled mess of it all we end up deciding a promise is only as good as how much we desire it. Our mindset has become, "if it doesn't benefit me, it's not important."
Last night I showed clips from Pirates of the Caribbean: The Black Pearl. Captain Barbosa and his crew had become such thiefs that they stole a treasure with a rumored curse on it and they chose not to believe it for their own personal gain. After squandering the treasure away, they realized their consequence was they would live undead; never to live, never to die, never to feel even the slightest breeze across their cheek. In a word, their lives were now nothing but decay. In the end, once they had returned the very desire they were so selfish with and paid their debt in their own shedding of blood, they were more blessed by feeling a sword as it pierced their skin than when they could feel nothing at all.
When our entire focus is only on fulfilling our own desires, promises become meaningless, friendships become that which we squander, and trust becomes a fictional character. Sometimes fulfilling our promises are painful, but it helps to know the feeling is not hidden behind a blanket of numbness.
What is a promise? A vow? A covenant? A commitment? A swollen oath? What about the words we speak the very moment we open our mouth? If we expect people to believe us, are we not saying the words we speak are a commitment to trust? Jesus is not as concerned with what the teachers of this Law were telling people to make promises on, but that our very lives would stand behind the truth we proclaim. Are your promises only for your benefit, or are they more for the benefit of others? How many people in our lives think about how much they can trust our commitment before they ask us to make one? Do we make it easy for them to have faith in us?
I really can relate to how The Message bible translates this passage:
"You're hopeless! What arrogant stupidity! You say, 'If someone makes a promise with his fingers crossed, that's nothing; but if he swears with his hand on the Bible, that's serious.' What ignorance! Does the leather on the Bible carry more weight than the skin on your hands? And what about this piece of trivia: 'If you shake hands on a promise, that's nothing; but if you raise your hand that God is your witness, that's serious'? What ridiculous hairsplitting! What difference does it make whether you shake hands or raise hands? A promise is a promise. What difference does it make if you make your promise inside or outside a house of worship? A promise is a promise. God is present, watching and holding you to account regardless. "(Matthew 23:16-20 MSG)
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