Matthew 5:33-37
New International Version
Oaths 33 “Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not break your oath, but fulfill to the Lord the vows you have made.’ 34 But I tell you, do not swear an oath at all: either by heaven, for it is God’s throne; 35 or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King. 36 And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black. 37 All you need to say is simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.[a]
Wednesday - April 6
“...In everyday business the same fraud [occurs]. One person openly cheats another with defective merchandise, false weights and measures, and counterfeit coins, and takes advantage of the other by deception and sharp practices and crafty dealings. …One swindles another in a trade and deliberately fleeces, skins, and torments him …In short, thievery is the most common craft and the largest guild on earth. If we look at the whole world in all its situations, it is nothing but a big, wide stable full of great thieves. … [These thieves] sit in their chairs and are known as great lords and honorable, upstanding citizens, while they rob and steal under the cloak of legality. (Luther’s Large Catechism, the Seventh Commandment).