Three Rights Make a Left

IS AN OATH OF OFFICE JUST WORDS?

In 1999 I took the oath of office to serve as a County Commissioner. It wasn’t the first I ever took, nor was it the last. It is the same oath that is taken by every office holder in Texas. It is also the oath taken in every other office in America no matter what state they are in. The only difference is the State of Texas is replaced by whatever state or territory they are in. However every office holder takes an oath to uphold the laws and constitution of the United States of America.

Here is the exact oath that I took:

“IN THE NAME AND BY THE AUTHORITY OF THE STATE OF TEXAS, I, (NAME), do solemnly swear (or affirm), that I will faithfully execute the duties of the office of ___ of the State of Texas, and will to the best of my ability preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution and laws of the United States and of this State, so help me God.”

I am grateful that the State of Texas gave me the option of affirming rather than swearing, because as a devout Christian, I don’t believe in swearing. The basis of my conviction is the scripture found in Matthew 5:33-37: “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.’ But I tell you, do not swear an oath at all: either by heaven, for it is God’s throne; or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King. And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black. All you need to say is simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.”

The fact that I affirm rather than swear an oath in no way diminishes the gravity of the commitment I am making. To promise to preserve, protect and defend the constitution and laws of the United States of America and the State of Texas is one I take very seriously.

I said all of that to say this. America is suffering from a rash of office holders who lied when they took their oath of office. They have substituted their own set of beliefs for those that have been legally put in place. This is especially true of prosecutors in large cities and innocent victims are literally paying with their fortunes and even with their lives.

We can’t let that happen here. We have to hold all office holders to their oath of office.