"When you make a vow to the Lord your God, you shall not delay to pay it; for the Lord your God will surely require it of you, and it would be sin to you” (Deuteronomy 23:21).
How well do people keep the vows which they make? One only has to look at the divorce rate to see that many people do not follow through with the vow they make before God to stay with their mate through the good times and the bad times.
Politicians are notorious for not keeping their promises. Will Rogers said, “If we got one-tenth of what was promised to us in these acceptance speeches there wouldn't be any inducement to go to heaven.” The actress Shirley MacLaine added, “It is useless to hold a person to anything he says while he is in love, drunk, or running for office.”
Someone has said, “Promises are like babies: easy to make, hard to deliver.” We should be careful about making vows. Abraham Lincoln noted, “We must not promise what we ought not, lest we be called on to perform what we cannot”.
The importance of following through with the promises we make is especially true when it comes to making vows to God. How often have I said or thought, “God if you get me through this trial I face I promise that I will __________” (fill in the blank). Do I actually follow through with whatever is in the blank or does the blank remain empty because I do not follow through with my vow I made to God? Solomon warned us, “When you make a vow to God, do not delay to pay it; For He has no pleasure in fools. Pay what you have vowed-- Better not to vow than to vow and not pay” (Ecclesiastes 5:4-5).
On this Lord’s day as I go to worship God, it is a great opportunity for me to reflect on the vows and commitments I have made to God and follow through with them. He has kept all the promises He has made to me. I will strive to keep the promises I have made to Him!
“Vows made to You are binding upon me, O God; I will render praises to You, For You have delivered my soul from death. Have You not kept my feet from falling, That I may walk before God In the light of the living?” (Psalm 56:12-13)