Articles
False Oaths
I have been sitting on a federal grand jury for almost a year. As part of our proceedings our foreperson swears in witnesses (yes, a Bible is still used) wherein they vow to tell “the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God.” It is sobering to hear someone vow before God. It is also sobering to hear the district attorney recite the penalties for lying to the grand jury.
Lying seems to come as naturally to humans as breathing. Some create “fake news” (“the truth”), which cost Brian Williams his news anchor position. Others lie by omission (“the whole truth”), as did national security advisor, Michael Flynn who was fired after just a few days on the job. Falsehood is often mixed with truth (“nothing but the truth”), a feature of most lying. The liar hopes the truth he tells will either obscure the lie or give his words more credibility. Some selectively cite certain statistics, omitting facts and research that would nullify their argument, while hoping no one double checks their claims.
Truth is the basis of trust. There is much that we cannot fact-check on our own. If your spouse comes in late and says, “I had to work two hours of overtime,” you believe them because of their proven character. On the other hand, when the VW dealer says, “The Golf TDI Diesel gets 45 mpg,” do you confidently believe it after VW admitted rigging their emissions tests? Telling the truth is crucial on both an individual and cultural level, for lying replaces trust with insecurity, doubt, fear and cynicism. In his mea culpa VW CEO Martin Winterkorn said: “I personally am deeply sorry that we have broken the trust of our customers and the public.”
Concerning the false swearing in His day Jesus simply said, “Do not swear at all … but let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No.’ For whatever is more than these is from the evil one” (Mt 5:33-37; cf. 23:16-22). In other words, say what you mean and mean what you say. What is worse than lying is to justify it by swearing on something thought to be of less value, as the scribes and Pharisees did concerning the temple or the altar. This was not merely lying to get out of a pickle; it was premeditated dishonesty and undermined their credibility.
Paul echoes Jesus’ teaching: “Therefore, putting away lying, each one speak truth with his neighbor, for we are members of one another” (Eph 4:25). This was likely conditioned in the Gentiles before their conversion. Perhaps they viewed truth-telling as lightly as do today’s postmodernists who believe that truth is relative, something to be molded and shaped to fit one’s own personal narrative.
It is tempting to slip in and out of certain personas based upon the situation. It may be acceptable in the business climate to fudge numbers or promise what can’t be delivered. Socially, we may tell sister Susie that her squash, garlic, chocolate tofu casserole is delicious so as to not hurt her feelings. Being committed to telling the truth can put us in an awkward position. While social grace and wisdom will help us blunt the sting of truth or deftly avoid a delicate subject altogether, we must determine to be truth-tellers nonetheless. Lying, evasion and denial are standard practice in this world. We must aim for something higher. We must love truth.
