I Solemnly Swear

You know what's curious to me? The concept of swearing. No, not the type of speech we have developed as a new form of punctuation. Let's take a look at the definitions.

solemn |ˈsäləm|
adjective
formal and dignified: a solemn procession.
• not cheerful or smiling; serious: Tim looked very solemn.
• characterized by deep sincerity: he swore a solemn oath to keep faith.

swear |swe(ə)r|
verb (swears, swearing; past swore |swôr| ; past participle sworn |swôrn| )
1 [ reporting verb ] make a solemn statement or promise undertaking to do something or affirming that something is the case: [ with clause ] : Maria made me swear I would never tell anyone | I swear by all I hold dear that I had nothing to do with it | [ with infinitive ] : he swore to obey the rules | [ with direct speech ] : “Never again,” she swore, “will I be short of money” | [ with obj. ] : they were reluctant to swear allegiance.
• [ with obj. ] take (an oath): he forced them to swear an oath of loyalty to him.
• [ with obj. ] take a solemn oath as to the truth of (a statement): I asked him if he would swear a statement to this effect.
• [ with obj. ] make (someone) promise to observe a certain course of action: I've been sworn to secrecy.

Sounds serious and sincere. Speaking of, let's grab those definitions too:

sincere |sinˈsi(ə)r|
adjective (sincerer, sincerest)
free from pretense or deceit; proceeding from genuine feelings: they offer their sincere thanks to Paul.
• (of a person) saying what they genuinely feel or believe; not dishonest or hypocritical.

serious |ˈsi(ə)rēəs|
adjective
1 (of a person) solemn or thoughtful in character or manner: her face grew serious.
• (of a subject, state, or activity) demanding careful consideration or application: marriage is a serious matter.
• (of thought or discussion) careful or profound: we give serious consideration to safety recommendations.
• (of music, literature, or other art forms) requiring deep reflection and inviting a considered response: he bridges the gap between serious and popular music.
2 acting or speaking sincerely and in earnest, rather than in a joking or halfhearted manner: suddenly he wasn't teasing any more—he was deadly serious | actors who are serious about their work.
3 significant or worrying because of possible danger or risk; not slight or negligible: she escaped serious injury | Haydn was Mozart's only serious rival.
4 [ attrib. ] informal substantial in terms of size, number, or quality: he suddenly had serious money to spend | a serious chocolate cheesecake.

Ok, so now that we've had our daily dose of dictionary, let's move forward. I think for me, the one that stood out the most and in a way is the root of all of that is "sincere." The act of being genuine and not dishonest (the dictionary used a double negative...).

Where do we see this used? A few things come to mind, like a courtroom. That makes sense, right? When seeking justice, we want those providing witness to be honest and genuine. We also swear in our President. Again, it would be a good thing if he's an honest and genuine guy. What about weddings? Vows are sworn oaths, right? We certainly hope that when a bride and groom get up there they mean what they say about loving and caring for each other 'til death do they part.

But am I alone in feeling like the meaning of an oath is coming up more and more empty? Our elected officials say one thing, and do another. Our marriages only last as long as we want them to. The courtroom seems to be moving more toward "empirical" evidence of video and DNA and other media. Are we not concerned that the word of man has become something we cannot depend on?

Allow me to theorize for a moment about why that is. I like my history, though I hated it in school. Give me a biography and I'm happy. Quiz me on dates and I'd rather visit the dentist. I remember reading things where people still believed that an answer they gave under oath would be held to them when they died. That's why we have the symbology of the Bible used in swearing in a witness (not always anymore) or President. It was man acknowledging that they were held to the authority of a being greater than any man. A deity who was present during the crime or statement given. Someone we could not just convince with eloquent speech or clever words. Especially in the office of the President, of which it's hard to say there is a person over him in power. We certainly hope he acknowledges that his decisions are held accountable to someone more powerful than him.

But what if we don't believe that? What if God doesn't hold us to these things? We lose our basis for speaking truth. We speak what is convenient to us. We are allowed to let the ends justify the means. We cannot trust witnesses, and therefore require the invasion of people's lives so that we have evidence beyond what was said. It really doesn't surprise us anymore when political officers lie to us. And our marriages. That one hurts me the most... I don't come from a broken home, that nice term for a family that has gone through divorce. No, I'm not against divorce, the Bible does give reasons for justifiable divorce. But when we divorce for reasons other than those in the Bible... Our oaths mean nothing. Our covenants are meaningless.

I'm guilty of saying what's convenient. I've slick-talked my way through situations to get my way. Manipulation comes to me way more easily than I would like to admit.

The Bible has a bunch of interesting examples of men giving oaths. Including some very stupid ones like Saul swearing that his men will not eat at all until they conquered their enemy (great idea, that one...) and then his son, unaware of this oath, eats some honey. God holds Saul to his oath and Israel is defeated. When Saul finds out who broke the oath, it takes the men of his army standing up for Jonathan and not letting Saul come through on his oath. Or the Jephthah giving oath that when he returned victorious to his home, he would offer up what or whomever came out his door first. That ended up being his daughter, and he came through on that oath.

Weird, crazy oaths there. But God takes them seriously. Do we?

Number 30:2 seems to be pretty clear about how God commands us to treat oaths and vows: "If a man vows a vow to the Lord, or swears an oath to bind himself by a pledge, he shall not break his word. He shall do according to all that proceeds out of his mouth."

James 5:12 builds off of that, taking it from swearing to simple "yes" and "no":

"But above all, my brothers, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or by any other oath, but let your “yes” be yes and your “no” be no, so that you may not fall under condemnation."

For me, the greatest challenge I read in this is to be careful of my oaths, and to mean what I say. In a day and age where we'll just say what helps us get what we want, what's convenient, what people want to hear, while losing integrity and the seriousness of consequences for not holding to it... I want to stand different. But can I solemnly swear?

-DH