Liar, Liar. James 5:12

James 5 NASB 12 But above all, my brethren, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath; but your yes is to be yes, and your no, no, so that you may not fall under judgment. I can still hear my son saying "I swear to God" when he was trying to convince me what he was saying was truth. I'd tell him he should not "swear to God" because we don't have the right to do that. We cannot pledge an oath on something we do not own. Why did I question my son's honesty? He had a bad habit of "fabricating the truth". I've never liked calling someone a liar. James tells us to let "your yes is to be yes, and your no, no, so that you may not fall under judgment." In other words, don't lie or people won't trust you and you will be judged a liar. Pretty simple, eh? But why do people lie? To try to stay out of trouble, it usually produces more. To look better than they are, they usually end up looking a fool. To avoid judgement, they end up being labeled a liar. Once we loose trust in someone, it's pretty hard to gain it back. We can "call them out" on their lie, go forward with the relationship and take what they say "with a grain of salt" or end the relationship. With my son, I have learned not to ask questions. I know the answers will probably not be the truth. I figure that way, I'm not giving him the opportunity to lie to me. I choose this option out of love. Blessings, Cecilia