I find myself making many different vows to God; some of it has to do with holding myself accountable, for I feel that if I tell God I will do something, it will make me follow through and complete things. I know this is foolish. Only God is faithful enough to keep His promises! I know due to human error, sin and even events outside of our control make it hard to keep our word and Jesus said it's better to not even make vows. I want to stop, though I keep doing it. Anyway, that's a different issue...my concern is if I end up not following through (usually by accident) if there will be a consequence. I know the Lord takes our word seriously. I am absolutely certain that there are no punishments because Jesus paid the ultimate sacrifice, however, there are still consequences to our actions or lack thereof. That being said, I am constantly wondering if there will be consequences of me not following through on my vows; for instance, if I told God I wasn't going to do something, it completely slipped my mind and I ended up doing it anyway...will something happen as a result of that? Hoping to receive some words of clarity as this is something I am struggling with.
An obvious result of making vows you don't keep is the growing emptiness of your vows. You are making your word of little value when you give it in a vow and then fail to keep it, employing assorted excuses for doing so. Is this the sort of person you want to be? An oathbreaker? One whose word cannot be trusted? In His word, God tells us:
Matthew 5:33-37
33 “Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform to the Lord what you have sworn.’
34 But I say to you, Do not take an oath at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God,
35 or by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King.
36 And do not take an oath by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black.
37 Let what you say be simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything more than this comes from evil.
"Maybe," "just kidding," "I didn't mean it!" - these are the words of those who equivocate, who are not people of "Yes" or "No," as Jesus has said to be. What about you? Will you be a person who follows through on what they say, whose "Yes" means "Yes" and whose "No" means "No"?
In His word, God never tells us the power to live the way He wants us to, the way He made us to live, is found in "accountability" tricks. You wrote, "I want to stop, though I keep doing it." Read
Romans 7. In the chapter, Paul the apostle described just this sort of problem. Thankfully, he goes on in
chapter 8 to outline the solution. Here's the heart of it:
Romans 8:6-14
6 For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.
7 For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot.
8 Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
9 You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.
10 But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness.
11 If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.
12 So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh.
13 For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.
14 For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.
Being a person of consistency, a person whose "Yes" means "Yes," a person who can be trusted to do as she says, is the by-product of the Holy Spirit being in control of you, filling you with himself, with his power and his spiritual "fruit" (
Galatians 5:22-23; Ephesians 5:9; Philippians 2:13). Have you given control of yourself to Him? Are you submitting to his will and way throughout every day? This is the way to a transformed, Christ-like life. It is, in fact, the only way.
Micah 6:8
Romans 6:13
Romans 12:1
James 4:7
1 Peter 5:6
