I find it disrespectful and objectionable when witnesses in court lie in spite of having made an oath with one hand on top of the bible. The Lord Jesus, in the Gospel, warned His apostles about making an oath. If we can not honor our promises and vows, we must not make them at all. The very basis of the teaching of Jesus was that there is really nothing we can swear to. There is nothing we can guarantee by ourselves. We are all dependent on the grace of God. And so, oaths are only possible by and with the grace of God.
Different professions have their own oath before they practice. How many had fulfilled their commitments? How much of those promised were followed and lived? What were violated? While the Word of God maybe applicable to secular oaths, His purpose is really more for the religious oaths people had made. We make many of those; creed, sacraments, and in prayers. We make our profession of faith at least every Sunday. We make oaths whenever we celebrate the sacraments. We make many of them when we kneel and pray to the Lord for graces. In fact, there are times when we bribe the Lord and let him believe that we are willing to do some things for Him in exchange for a particular grace. What is interesting is that some of those graces were granted. But were the promises fulfilled? I have known of cases when parents would beg for the lives of their children or professionals praying for positions or achievements and promised to do something. Many were granted. How many fulfilled their oaths?
The Lord encourages truth in everything. Life becomes progressive when we live a life of truth. The less lies we make in our lives, the nearer we are with God. The more truthful we are, the lesser burden we have in achieving our real destiny.
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