33 “Again, you have heard that it was said to our ancestors, You must not break your oath, but you must keep your oaths to the Lord. 34 But I tell you, don’t take an oath at all: either by heaven, because it is God’s throne; 35 or by the earth, because it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, because it is the city of the great King. 36 Do not swear by your head, because you cannot make a single hair white or black. 37 But let your ‘yes’ mean ‘yes,’ and your ‘no’ mean ‘no.’ Anything more than this is from the evil one.

“Whoever walks in integrity walks securely,”

Think about the spokes on a wheel. If even one spoke bends or breaks, the entire wheel becomes unstable. You might still move forward for a while, but every turn feels shaky and uneven. Eventually, the wheel wobbles so badly that it can’t stay on course.

That’s what life looks like when we lose integrity. Jesus is the center — the hub — of everything. Integrity is what keeps the spokes of our words, actions, and attitudes connected to Him. Without it, our lives start to wobble out of alignment.

The word integrity comes from the Latin integer, meaning whole, complete, undivided. To live with integrity means living undivided — consistent in character whether you’re on stage or behind the scenes, in public or in private. It’s not about perfection; it’s about alignment with Jesus.

In Matthew 5, Jesus challenges the Pharisees who had turned sacred promises into technicalities. They found creative ways to sound holy while avoiding true commitment. They were saying all the right words but living divided lives.

But Jesus calls us higher. In verse 37, He says,

“Let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No.’ Anything more than this comes from the evil one.”

Jesus wasn’t forbidding oaths — He was revealing the kind of people the Kingdom produces: those whose word is trustworthy because their hearts are true.

Proverbs 10:9 says, “Whoever walks in integrity walks securely.” When Jesus is your foundation, integrity becomes the rhythm that keeps your life steady and in step with Him.

We live in a world wobbling with inconsistency — where promises are broken, truth is twisted, and character is often compromised. But when Jesus is at the center, integrity keeps every part of your life connected, steady, and strong.

Over the next six days, we’ll explore the “loopholes” that weaken our integrity and discover how Jesus calls us into a life of wholeness and freedom.

Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal one area of your life that’s wobbling out of alignment with Jesus. Write it down and invite Him to help bring it back into balance through integrity.