Do Not Swear

Matthew 5:33-37
33 “Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform your oaths to the Lord.’ 34 But I say to you, do not swear at all: neither by heaven, for it is God's throne; 35 nor by the earth, for it is His footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. 36 Nor shall you swear by your head, because you cannot make one hair white or black. 37 But let your “Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No.’ For whatever is more than these is from the evil one.

We are not to make empty promises, nor trust in our ability to shape events or others. Instead we must say yes we will do this or no we will or cannot, that some thing is true or false. Frivolous promises, especially attaching God's name to them to add false weight when He is not behind it, these are empty and offensive to Him and do not help others. We should say, if the Lord wills we will do this or that. Empty oaths swearing to things we will not or cannot do are in our own effort; God does not promise to back us in them.