（瑪5:33-37）
有一位傳媒人說得好：「假的真不了，真的也假不了。」的確，說過千萬次的謊言，即使騙了千千萬萬人，始終都是謊言，是謬論，是不會因為說得多，便會變成事實，變成真理。
本來，「是」就是「是」，「非」就是「非」，是客觀的事實，有需要的話，任何人都可以驗證其真偽。但猶太人的法律太有效率了，祇要兩個人的證言，便可以判別是非。這法律中的漏洞，可想而知；從蘇撒納的故事，更可見一斑（達13:43）。如果祇得一個人又怎麼辦呢？於是他們想出「發誓」的方法，請天主做第二位證人，來滿足法律的要求。這樣做，祇不過是自欺欺人。倘若某君發虛誓，難道慈悲的天主會令他立刻暴斃（宗5:5，10），而不會給他悔改的機會嗎？
耶穌基督反對發誓，因為根本不需要第二位證人。一個人本身的說話，足以判斷他自己。人是天主的肖像，天主說了，萬物便生成。祂肖像的說話，應該也是很有份量的。可惜，出於魔鬼的嫉妒，謊言進入了世界，連天主的肖像，也喪失了原始的恩寵，爾虞我詐，滿口謊言，實在太可悲了。耶穌基督帶來救贖，恢復天主肖像原有的恩寵，更把我們提升到天主義子的地位。作為天主的子女，我們的說話，非同小可，謊言又豈可說出口呢？所以耶穌基督說：「是就說是，非就說非；其他多餘的便是出於邪惡。」（瑪5:37）聽來苛刻，其實，這是作為天主子女應有的自我尊重！
天父啊！讓我們不說多餘的話。亞孟。
More Is Evil
(Matthew 5:33-37)
Once a TV celebrity said, "Being fake can never be genuine and being genuine can never be fake." Indeed, even if a lie is told thousands of times and is able to cheat millions of people, it is a lie, a fallacy. It can never become a reality or a truth no matter how many times it is repeated.
Truth and falsity are objective realities. If needs arise, anybody can verify its truth value. But Jewish laws were too efficient. The witness of two people was sufficient to establish the truth of an incident. The flaw is obvious. It is amply demonstrated in the story of Susanna (Daniel 13:43) What should be done when there was only one person? Well, swear an oath, inviting God to be the second witness to satisfy the demand of the laws. Such a compromise only fools oneself. If somebody dares to take a false oath, would the merciful Lord kill him instantly (Acts 5:5, 10) and does not give him an opportunity to repent?
Jesus Christ opposes swearing. There is no need of the second witness. The word of a person is enough to pass judgment on himself. Men were created in the image of God. God spoke and all things were created. The words of His images should be powerful as well. Unfortunately, out of the jealousy of the Devil, lies entered the world. Even the images of God have lost their original grace and started cheating each other and their mouths are open tombs of lies. How sad it is! Jesus Christ brought us redemption, restoring the original grace of the images of God. Furthermore, he raises our status to be adopted children of God. To be children of God, our words cannot be slight. How then can lies come out from our lips? Thus, Jesus Christ says, "Let your 'Yes' mean 'Yes', and your 'No' mean 'No'. Anything more is from the evil one." (Matthew 5:37). Though it souns harsh, it is in fact the self-respect the Children of God should possess!
Heavenly Father! Let us not speak unnecessarily. Amen.
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