If You Can’t Read ‘Em, Swear on ‘Em

Karen Smith, re-elected school board president of a Pennsylvania school district, was sworn in this week on a stack of banned books. Instead of the traditional choice (the Bible), Smith's husband carried a stack of various banned books for her to take her oath on, including several with sexually explicit material. 

When asked to explain her choice of books, Smith said, "I'm not particularly religious. The Bible doesn't hold significant meaning for me, and given everything that has occurred in the last couple of years, the banned books, they do mean something to me at this point…" 

Smith has long opposed the efforts to ban access to certain books, and when asked about the remaining books under review by the school board, she said, "They're definitely not going to be reviewed at this point.”

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The Remnant's Response

When a person freely declares, "The Bible doesn't hold significant meaning for me," it is fair to ask, "What exactly does?" In this case, we don't need to wonder, as Mrs. Smith made clear where her affections lie. When men reject God, they don't embrace 'nothing'; they always replace the veneration and worship of the Lord with the worship of something else, and that "something else" can best be described as "weak and worthless elemental things" which "enslave" us (Galatians 4:9) inevitably damaging those under their leadership, inevitably leading to great judgment (Jeremiah 23:1-2; Matthew 18:6). 

God is not impressed when we swear on the Bible, but we will be depressed if we don't purpose to live by it (2 Chronicles 36:16 ). The remnant doesn't need a hand on a Bible to be motivated to live righteously (Matthew 5:37 ), and the wicked won't do right no matter what they swear by (Psalm 10:3-7). Jesus was clear in His admonishment to all men concerning the foolishness of oaths (Matthew 5:34 ) and especially clear about playing games if and when we do (Matthew 5:35-36). 

Mrs. Smith's problem was not that she took her 'oath of office' on a stack of banned books, but that she is banning her life from THE perfect Book that would "restore her soul" and "make wise" the simple, pure children under her leadership (Psalm 19:7). Let's pray for her, the families, and the children in the school district she leads, and let us especially propose not to scoff at her decision while we say we love God's Word but fail to read and apply the Bible we wished she based her life and took her oath of office on. (Stop and hit the Bible links in this story to give yourself a start!)