We Share One Life, We Are One Life
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But let your word be, "Yes" for "Yes," or "No" for "No," and that which is more than these is of the evil.
*Matthew 5.37
Practice of Silence in contemplation is a means to purify mind of excess, to lead back to simplicity. This manifests in speech, as well as writing. When enough is said, enough is said. Over-focusing on simplicity in word will not work; allowing the process to unfold naturally will. If you allow Grace to simplify mind, action will follow more simplified, but do not look for leaps in this - allow the unfolding.
Jesus says, in Matthew 5.36, not to take oaths. Quakers often have concluded, following its founder George Fox, this means no oaths at all, and links with Matthew 5.37 that meaning. We could see this, rather, as a wisdom teaching. Generally, wisdom sayings offer a principle, not a rule for all situations.
Regardless, Jesus speaks of unadorned speech, mereness in word. We are not to disguise truth to manipulate others to agree. If I am not certain that what I say is true, I can keep it within until clarity arises. Also, this connotes we are not to speak that beyond possibility of knowing. This is a reason I no longer say a creed about 'eternal' matters no human can know. To ask anyone to affirm something no one can know is to ask that person, in the name of faith, to speak about Mystery what the mind cannot fathom to be true or not. A better "creed" about the Mystery is to remain silent about such matters, letting silence be a reverential act of faith, a testimony to Grace present but incomprehensible.
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