A confusing problem!

[Kostilaks]

A guy who has an ocd fear of God, has a bad habit. That bad habit is sticking gum on his desk. One day, he thinks that it is a good idea to make a promise to God to stop that bad habit and suggests a punishment in case that he breaks the promise. That will make the promise scarier to break and will force him to stop that bad habit forever.

He is calm and after thinking about it for 10-20 seconds, he foolishly, thinks that it is a good way of stoping that habit. So, he prays to God and makes the promise.

He regrets making such a promise for a bad habit that was easy to stop without a promise. Then, why he made the promise? what was the motive behind it? Why He risked?

It is as if he threatened himself with a broken promise in order to stop that bad habit.

Is the promise valid or not? He has ocd and he fears God a lot but for some reason that he cant explain, he made that mistake. Even though, he has ocd (mental illness) he was calm and knew that he was making a promise to God. But still, the whole case does not make sense. Why would he risk breaking a promise for a bad habit?

Is the promise considered normal and valid? Did his illness caused the promise, even though, he was calm and had full control of his prayer?

is it different than the promise of the father who vowed to God, as it is written in the Bible?

 

[TenthAveN]

I don’t know anything about vows, maybe I made one but I don’t remember. I can, however, suggest that you reply to the people that reply to your other threads instead of making new ones. But I’ll be praying for you, and I do hope it gets better.

 

[Of the Kingdom]

Then, why he made the promise? what was the motive behind it? Why He risked?

One way to break a habit is to have a penalty for continuing the habit. A good example is a "swear jar". Typically, if you use a swear word, you are required to put a quarter in the jar.

Two issues here: You should take it upon yourself to impose a penalty, not try to put that responsibility on God. You can of course pray that He will help you break the habit. You should also choose an appropriate penalty. A quarter, writing a sentence 10 times, something like that. I suspect you asked God to bring down an unreasonable penalty on yourself.

I suggest you put this behind you. Apologize to God, and set yourself a responsible penalty to help you break the habit.

 

[Tolworth John]

One day, he thinks that it is a good idea to make a promise to God to stop that bad habit and suggests a punishment in case that he breaks the promise. That will make the promise scarier to break and will force him to stop that bad habit forever.

In this OCD forum look for the thread OCD and promises, open it and read the first post, also open the link to an article on OCD and promises, it is very helpful.

As you have already been told you can also find the article 25 tips for successful treating your OCD. Again read it and talk it over with your therapist.

A key point in it is:-

You are responsible for your treatment of intrusive thoughts and/or OCD.
You have to work at the various therapies that help you cope and if needed take your medication.