Deuteronomy 23: 21-23 When thou shalt vow a vow unto the Lord thy God, thou shalt not slack to pay it: for the Lord thy God will surely require it of thee; and it would be sin in thee. But if thou shalt forbear to vow, it shall be no sin in thee. That which is gone out of thy lips thou shalt keep and perform, even a freewill offering, according as thou hast vowed unto the Lord thy God, which thou hast promised with thy mouth.
Promises, Promises, Promises! A sweet sounding word that carries an awesome responsibility; defined as ‘an assurance given to a person that one will do, or not do something, or will give or procure him something.’ A vow is a solemn, more serious promise, that in olden times was considered sacred, and not given lightly. A man’s word was as good as gold, you could take it all the way to the bank. His honour, his integrity, his reputation, depended to a great extent on whether or not he kept his promises. In Today’s Bit, Moses is warning the Israelites about making vows to God. You had better keep them, because God will hold you to it, and impute it to you as sin. It’s better not to vow and be held sinless. Even when we promise something that’s not required by God’s law, once we open our mouth, it should be kept. Friends, that point of view should also apply to our fellow humans. But sadly, it seems to have withered and died over the years. Now we say, promises are made to be broken. Oh People, how unfortunate! It’s the bane of our society. We make vows that we have no intention of keeping. A man’s word is no longer honourable. Integrity has disappeared. A handshake no longer seals a deal. Even written contracts are broken with impunity. It’s even supported in the law; ‘Buyer Beware,’ so disreputable sellers can make false claims and promises, but the onus falls on the buyer. Where has our trust and decency gone eh? Scam artists are having a field day, especially amongst the older folks, who still retain some of that trusting mentality. More often than not, the crooks get away with it too. We’ve even dressed it up in a nice name; ‘white collar crime,’ and it seems to incur much less punishment than the ‘blue collar’ kind, although it usually causes much more damage. Something is wrong with that picture Friends. As somebody said, nowadays, promises are the devil’s best friend. Anyway, I’d like to see us go back to the days when a promise was a promise; it meant something; you intended to keep it, and not the frivolous, insincere intentions we now spout. It’s the only way we can restore some of that trust we’ve lost in each other. It’s interesting how we talk about God’s promises and expect Him to keep them, but what about us eh? If we’re followers of God, then we have that same responsibility. But talk is so cheap and plentiful now, with the cell phone rage. We’ve become a talkative society, mostly talking because we can. Friends, I’m imploring us to let our words be fewer and more meaningful, and when we make a promise, a pledge, a covenant, however we term it, let’s be sincere and have the good intention to keep it. That’s God’s way. It should also be ours. Much LOVE!…remember…a vow…is a vow…is a vow…
Promises, Promises, Promises! A sweet sounding word that carries an awesome responsibility; defined as ‘an assurance given to a person that one will do, or not do something, or will give or procure him something.’ A vow is a solemn, more serious promise, that in olden times was considered sacred, and not given lightly. A man’s word was as good as gold, you could take it all the way to the bank. His honour, his integrity, his reputation, depended to a great extent on whether or not he kept his promises. In Today’s Bit, Moses is warning the Israelites about making vows to God. You had better keep them, because God will hold you to it, and impute it to you as sin. It’s better not to vow and be held sinless. Even when we promise something that’s not required by God’s law, once we open our mouth, it should be kept. Friends, that point of view should also apply to our fellow humans. But sadly, it seems to have withered and died over the years. Now we say, promises are made to be broken. Oh People, how unfortunate! It’s the bane of our society. We make vows that we have no intention of keeping. A man’s word is no longer honourable. Integrity has disappeared. A handshake no longer seals a deal. Even written contracts are broken with impunity. It’s even supported in the law; ‘Buyer Beware,’ so disreputable sellers can make false claims and promises, but the onus falls on the buyer. Where has our trust and decency gone eh? Scam artists are having a field day, especially amongst the older folks, who still retain some of that trusting mentality. More often than not, the crooks get away with it too. We’ve even dressed it up in a nice name; ‘white collar crime,’ and it seems to incur much less punishment than the ‘blue collar’ kind, although it usually causes much more damage. Something is wrong with that picture Friends. As somebody said, nowadays, promises are the devil’s best friend. Anyway, I’d like to see us go back to the days when a promise was a promise; it meant something; you intended to keep it, and not the frivolous, insincere intentions we now spout. It’s the only way we can restore some of that trust we’ve lost in each other. It’s interesting how we talk about God’s promises and expect Him to keep them, but what about us eh? If we’re followers of God, then we have that same responsibility. But talk is so cheap and plentiful now, with the cell phone rage. We’ve become a talkative society, mostly talking because we can. Friends, I’m imploring us to let our words be fewer and more meaningful, and when we make a promise, a pledge, a covenant, however we term it, let’s be sincere and have the good intention to keep it. That’s God’s way. It should also be ours. Much LOVE!…remember…a vow…is a vow…is a vow…
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