Daddy's Daughter: A Short Summary of My Dad's Sermon

Say What You Mean, and Mean What You Say
James 5:12

"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."

The sermon in a sentence is the title of the message: Say what you mean, and mean what you say. First of all, James says, "... do not swear." Though using foul language is definitely wrong, James is instead talking about adding the Lord's name to any statement. That's wrong. The next thing James says is "... let your "yes" be yes and your "no" be no." Nowadays, there is no straight "yes" and "no." There's no absolute truth or integrity or honesty in this world. People have a concept of half-truth, which says that we should try to find a loop-hole in every word. Finally, when James ends, he warns us saying, "... so that you may not fall under condemnation." Basically James is saying that we will be judged for every word we say. So, say what you mean and mean what you say.