Not Swearing That We Know Things can be a Virtue

   The all-knowing is God. The rest of us are not. God knows what things will be, but sometimes it is vain of us to suppose we know.
   A man may swear to a racquetball opponent, "As surely as the sun sets tonight, I am going to beat you in a game tomorrow." His anger at his foe brings him to boast he will have the conquest, but he does not know.
   Another may swear, "I will not speak to you again for as long as I live." But, he does not know what the future will bring, and whether he will change his mind. The day might come, he speaks to that person again.
   "I know when a person is losing it. I can tell when they're losing their marbles. And I swear that that man is. He's gone." says one, passing judgement upon another. But, the judgement might be wrong. How does one person know the mental condititon of another? Sometimes, lack of sleep, or other factors influence another person's performance. Those judging him can only guess. It is God who knows all, not man.
   I do not doubt that God can speak to man, and tell him what is. Revelation, we call it. When God speaks on a matter, it is not vain supposition. But, if God is not the one doing the speaking, then all too often, it is. If God is not the one giving us the knowledge, then we just do not know what things are certainly so.
   Would it be a virtue to not state as fact something we do not know? I believe so, though, in the spirit of this post, I must confess it is God who knows what things are virtues, and what are not. I will only say, that to me it is a virtue, one that I choose to try to live by.
   In the Sermon on the Mount, Christ spoke of a related type of swearing.
   "Again, ye have heard that it hath been said by them of old time, Thou shalt not forswear thyself, but shall perform unto the Lord thine oaths.
   "But I say unto you, Swear not at all; neither by heaven; for it is God's throne:
   "Nor by the earth; for it is his footstool: neither by Jerusalem; for it is the city of the great King.
   "Neither shall thou swear by thy head, because thou canst not make one hair white or black.
   "But let your communications be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil." (Matthew 5:33-37)
   Perhaps, Christ spoke of a related form of swearing, but I find some application. He noted that in old times, it was said, a person should only forswear their oaths unto the Lord. But, from that time on, they were not to swear their oaths, at all.
   Me? As to whether I swear I will do this or do that, or swear that I know this or know that, I would to not swear a thing at all. My swearing a thing cannot make it right or wrong, just as I cannot make a hair of my head white or black. If someone should ask me to do something, I would that I should simply say, "Okay, let me go do it" or "No, I don't choose to do that," rather than, "By all that is good, I swear I will," or, "I swear by the coming light of day that I will do this thing."
   I choose to find application of this scripture to how I state things, and to how I do not choose to suppose things. I hope that my application is acceptable, but I do not know. I say this not to just be practicing what I have just preached, but because, no, I do not know.