One thing that has always annoyed me is dumb guys. I believe that we are harder on those of our own sex because we know how we can go wrong from the inside. You have daddy’s little girls and momma’s boys, because dads are harder on their sons and mothers on their daughters. One of the greatest problems with my sex is the spewing of empty words, speech without meaning.
In times before our own, oaths were a big deal. Committing to something and then backing out could be a matter of life and death. If you can’t trust someone’s word where are you as a people? It’s hard to accomplish much. I think some people still value honesty these days, though the number is dwindling, but the concept of an oath is totally foreign. And so stories like that found in Judges 11, if we actually do ever read them, make no sense to us. Though the story was once well known and the subject of much art. Jephthah swore a rash vow, that if God granted him victory he would sacrifice the first thing that came out of his door when he returned home, as a burnt offering. He was granted victory, and his daughter was the first to greet him when he returned home. Now he has two bad options, break his vow and lose credibility, or sacrifice his daughter. He chooses the latter, and his daughter is forever mourned. It is interesting that the Bible says he was in the Spirit when he swore his oath. Before you get too upset about people sacrificing their children, remember God sacrificed his Son. It is the basis of our faith.
Jephthah’s Return. Esaias van de Velde. Dutch. C.1602-1630
And so today you have many guys, talking too much. They talk about all the things they supposedly did in the past. I rode back from Wenatchee with a trucker one time. By the end of the trip I all but expected the President himself to greet us when we arrived back in Bozeman. I think CB radios amplify the problem, but the same is probably true of the internet. It’s like Uncle Rico living back in ’82.
They also talk about all the things they are going to do, with no intention of ever doing them. And when none of them happen it is generally the fault of the government or the man, or their wives, were they lucky enough to have them. Now there is nothing wrong with dreaming and taking the faithfulness God has given you and parlaying it into more. The problem I am talking about is all the talking, that is not even remotely possible. It’s the lottery ticket buyer who thinks he is one scratch away from being the CEO of his own company. It’s the lazy guy who is telling you his business plan, which ammounts to little more than a pyramid scheme, which he is even too lazy to implement. It’s the guy talking about all the things he is going to buy, when he is too lazy to get a job. He wants to set the President straight but won’t take out the garbage when he tells his wife he will.
But there is a more benign form of the same thing, the idol chatter, which is just as bad. It’s a group of guys sitting around and talking about how they would like to set their boss or someone else straight. “We should climb the water tower.” “We should set this injustice right.” “We should walk up to him and say. . .” “I’m going to. . .” At least George Costanza, gets back on the plane for the perfect comeback, these guys just sit around and talk about the perfect comeback. It’s like the old guys sitting around drinking coffee in the diner, arguing and pontificating about the problems of the world and then going home and taking a nap.
This reminds me of a newish Weird Al song, Lame Claim to Fame. Where stupid guys are always trying to make themselves look better than they actually are, by association. I don’t mean to demean the everyman and his humble profession. The coal miner who sees his work as fueling the American economy is not all wrong. This is the Protestant work ethic, which gave respect and honor to every profession, not just the priesthood. This is what built America. The problem comes when this guy talks about it constantly.
I once made a rash vow. I got upset about the ensconced nature of the greek drinking culture at my small Christian college. So, I said I was going to drive on the quad. A piece of grass that was more sacred to the college than the character of it’s students, or so it seemed at the time. I happened to say this in front of a number of the guys on my hall, so of course I had to do it. But who took the picture?
The Old Testament establishes the importance of keeping one’s vows, Numbers 30 says: ““This is what the Lord has commanded. 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.” It goes on to extend further grace to the fairer sex, or perhaps the more loquacious sex, of course today this is seen as being sexist. In a culture where women are protected, they have less civic responsibility because they have greater domestic responsibility, which I think is a blessing. And so I believe I am justified in holding my sex to a higher standard, because God does, because they have greater responsibility.
Jesus expands the wisdom regarding oathes in his sermon on the mount in Matthew 33-37. Don’t swear by things you have no control over, such as the earth or the hair of your head, or you might find yourself like Jephthah. If you are asked to do something simply say ‘yes’ or ‘no’ and then hold to what you say. He is not decreasing the importance of keeping your word, but showing you that very little is up to you in the first place. In so much as it is up to you, keep your word. The medievals used to end letters or other plans with ‘DV’ which was the latin for Deo Volente, God willing. An idea that they got from James 4:13-17. I suggest we bring it back, or shut up.