At the onset of this new year, millions of people are making New Year's
resolutions, promises, and vows that they may never in reality, ever carry
out. Everywhere you go the topic of conversation is, "What are your New
Year's resolutions?" Ask around and see how many people you can find who
have kept their resolutions from last year.... Did you make any yourself?
How did you do? Considering your list, were there more kept or unkept?
As Christians, God takes all our vows seriously and we should too! Which
leads me to today's devotion....
Picture this little scenario: You have just loaned some money to old friends
who seem to be in need. The day of promised return payment arrives, but
there is no sign of the money. Your phone calls don’t get through to them
and they never seem to be at home. Several weeks go by and you still have
not heard from them.... Putting the financial part of the issue aside
for a moment, I want you to consider the following questions:
First of all, what kind of response do you think you would have if you
were the one loaning the money in this situation? How do you feel when
a promise has been broken regardless of the "size" of it? I wonder how
the Lord feels about some of our broken promises to Him....
Next, what do you think may be happening in the head/heart of the friends
who were loaned the money? How do you feel about yourself when you don't
keep promises, vows, commitments, that you have made to the Lord?
And lastly, do you think that each of these parties reactions would change
if the amount were $5.00? If it were $500.00? What if it were $50,000.00?!
Both parties being Christians, do you think it would make a difference
in how the situation was handled? Should it? I wonder dear lady, do you
only feel guilty if you broke a "big" promise to the Lord? Or do you take
seriously all your vows, no matter what the size? It may appear to be
a "small" vow to someone else, but if it is between you and your God,
it's not, amen? You see, your vow is your promise to Him and therefore
important!
Hebrews 6:16 &17 says, "For men verily swear by the greater: and an oath
for confirmation is to them an end of all strife. Wherein God, willing
more abundantly to shew unto the heirs of promise the immutability of
his counsel, confirmed it by an oath."
According to this passage, what is the purpose of an oath? It looks to
me to be a confirmation, a promise of one's word, for the purpose of putting
an end to strife, or giving the devil a foothold in a particular area
of our lives. And certainly that is a good desire, amen?
Leviticus 5:4, "Or if a soul swear, pronouncing with his lips to do evil,
or to do good, whatsoever it be that a man shall pronounce with an oath,
and it be hid from him; when he knoweth of it, then he shall be guilty
in one of these."
Ladies, God expects us to take our promises very seriously. Have you ever
sworn to do or not do something and then realized how foolish your promise
was? God's people are called to keep their word, even if they make promises
that are tough to keep, amen?
Matthew 5:37, "But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for
whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil."
Jesus warned against swearing, in the sense of making vows or oaths flippantly,
when He pointed out that just a simple yes or no will do. Anything other
than that can lead to trouble... You see ladies, our word should be enough.
If we feel we have to strengthen it with an oath, something is wrong with
our hearts! Jesus teaches that our conversation should always be honest
and our character true. Words depend on character and no number of vows
or oaths we make can compensate for poor character.... It's not what you
say you're going to do that makes the person, it's what you actually do!
The only promises we ought not to keep are promises that lead to sin.
Therefore, a wise and self-controlled person avoids making rash vows.
The worse men are, the less they are bound by oaths; the better they are,
the less there is a need for them as living by truth is upheld in their
lives. So then, can a vow really help your situation? Does it really make
things "better"? Or can it make things worse for us? We learn from the
Lord that a vow sincerely made does bring seriousness to a certain situation,
but it is a seriousness that already ought to be in place!
Proverbs 10:19, "In the multitude of words there wanteth not sin: but
he that refraineth his lips is wise."
As you face the New Year, are there any areas of your life where seriousness
and sobriety are needful but have been missing? Any areas where in the
past, you may have dealt falsely - either with man or God? Have you got
a closet full of broken promises following you around and haunting you?
Perhaps you were too careless and thoughtless with your words in the past...
Ladies, the Lord may lead you to make a particular vow in your life so
that you will sober up in an area that you are otherwise very lazy in!
Are you considering any of those areas today as you face the New Year?
Whatever the case may be with you, I hope you will take your promises
to God seriously now that you are His. You see, the world doesn't always
keep their vows, nor take them seriously, because they are not making
those vows to God, but to themselves. Therefore, they can make and break
their own rules! But you, Christian lady, are making them before your
Lord, therefore they ought not ever to be broken. Now you can see why
we ought not to be hasty in making them!
Proverbs 20:25, "It is a snare to the man who devoureth that which is
holy, and after vows to make enquiry."
Yes, God takes our promises seriously and will hold us to every one of
them, whether you remember them or not! The above verse points out the
evil of making a vow rashly and then reconsidering it. Therefore, men
and women ought to take great care in their dealings with the Lord! We
often have good intentions when making a vow because we want to show God
that we are determined to please Him. Realize though, as Christ pointed
out, that they are difficult to keep and God will require of you what
you promise. We often cause ourselves great harm when we thoughtlessly
dedicate things to God without considering whether or not we can really
honor our commitments! If you still feel it is important to make a vow,
make sure you weigh the consequences of breaking that vow. It is better
not to make promises than to make them and then later want to change them.
It is better still to count the cost beforehand and then to fulfill them,
amen?
Luke 14:28, "For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not
down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish
it?"
From what we have seen so far in these scriptures, are you getting the
picture of what kinds of vows to make, and once they are made, how seriously
to take them? Do you understand the importance of keeping a vow before
the Lord? Vows can keep you from trouble, and if not kept, get you in
trouble! Don't make or take them lightly. Be sure that the Lord is leading
in the making of them... And if so, make them and keep them through His
power. If He is leading you to make them, He will be there in helping
you to keep them, amen?
Philip. 2:13, "For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to
do of HIS good pleasure."
Vows and oaths have a rich history in Old and New Testament times. They
helped establish transactions on firmer footings, those between men and
also between God and men. Truthfulness seems so rare these days that we
feel we must end our statements with "I promise." Promises do build trust...
However, if we tell the truth all the time, we will have less pressure
to back up our words with an oath or promise, amen? Hence, making promises
we know we can't keep builds mistrust.... Are you known as a person of
your word? Can God trust you to keep your promises to Him??
Like the surgeons scalpel, oaths and vows are dangerous when they are
abused: they are so simple and easy to use, yet can release fearful death
and destruction. To misuse a vow is to possibly turn the course of one's
life in a very unfavorable direction! To use a vow properly is to open
the possibility of rich blessing from God and an opportunity to experience
His power to change you!
In closing, the Bible's message to us is clear: use vows, but handle them
with care! Reserve them for times when they are really needed and will
be reverently expressed. Strive to be known by God and man as a person
who keeps their word!
God Bless,
Pam
Isaiah 60:1&2
Copyright 2000
Pamela A. Iannello
