Jesus commands complete integrity of speech: your plain word should be so reliable that oaths and embellishment are unnecessary. Say what is true, keep what you commit, and refuse to soften or spin. Anything beyond honest yes and no, He says, “cometh of evil.”
Matthew 5:37 KJV“But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil.”
Read Matthew 5 →
Jesus commands that your word be your bond — your yes means yes, your no means no, with no embellishment, no softening, no saying what people want to hear. This calls for a level of integrity in speech that most people find quietly inconvenient. Are your words consistently reliable? When you commit to something, does it hold? Or do you sometimes say what is convenient rather than what is true?
Let your yes be yes and your no be no. Say what is true, plainly, without embellishment or excuse. When you commit, hold to it. When you answer, answer directly. Stop softening the truth or saying what people want to hear. Your word must be your bond — today, in every conversation, every commitment, every question asked of you. No exaggeration, no evasion, no addition. Let your simple word be enough.
When your words become simply yes or no, you reveal the Father's character of truth and faithfulness. Your straightforward honesty, free from duplicity or manipulation, testifies to His integrity. This simple obedience proclaims a God who needs no human embellishment to validate His reality or His promises. You draw near to Him as you reflect His unblemished truthfulness.
This is one of 69 direct commands of Jesus in the free Red Letter Challenge: All Commands of Jesus — The Living Sword
Read every Scripture in your chosen translation (WEB, KJV, Geneva, YLT, and more) at https://www.thelivingsword.org/red-letter-challenge/let-your-yes-be-yes