Laying Down a Smoke Screen of Pious Talk

You only make things worse when you lay down a smoke screen of pious talk, saying, ‘I’ll pray for you,’ and never doing it, *(Matt 5.24).  Obviously, Petersen takes a little liberty with this passage which in the ESV reads:

“But I say to you, Do not take an oath at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God,” (Matthew 5:34, ESV)

However, he does get at the point of the passage: "Don't make hasty and needless promises which you are not going to keep."  I suppose Petersen's paraphrase hits close to home because I've told people "I'l pray for you," and then never done it.  If one is going to make a promise, then keep the promise.  Here, Christs' point seems to be: "Don't swear after this or that, just do what you say you're going to do."

Are you a man or woman of your word?