People that don’t keep their promises have a hard time keepin’ their word about anything.”
–B.N. Rundell (Journey to Jeopardy)
“God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?”
“God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?”
–Numbers 23:19(NKJV)
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When I was a principal and to a lesser degree a classroom teacher, I heard every excuse in the book. When asking a student why they did such and such, they would come up with all kinds of reasons, none of them really the truth. On some students, you get to know who, I would use an honor system. They would promise never to do “it” again. I would take them at their word, but I told them that if they broke our trust that I would come down even harder on them.
“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. Do not let your mouth cause your flesh to sin, nor say before the messenger of God that it was an error. Why should God be angry at your excuse and destroy the works of your hands?”
–Ecclesiastes 5:4-6 (NKJV)
Make a commitment and keep it. People have a tendency to make vows that are shallow and superficial. “Lord, if you help me out of this, I’ll become…” and God knows that the person isn’t going to keep that vow. But I wonder. . . isn’t that a form of bribery, a form of manipulation? God doesn’t bargain with us, oh, it may seem that He does at times, but when he helps us out of trouble it is not because we have promised something; it is because He is our heavenly Father. We must not attempt to bribe God with vows. In other words, do not play games with God!
How many times have you told God, “I’ll never do it again, I promise”? Then two days later you are back on your knees praying the same prayer. That does not negate the original vow. Some hang their heads and let the situation destroy them and drive them into despair. “I’m no good, I keeping breaking my promise.” That does not do away with the original promise. Get up and keep the vow. Strive over and over if need be, but do it. I see only two places in the Bible where a vow can be broken. The father can negate a vow by a daughter, and the husband the wife.
Don’t decide now, then deny later. Don’t go to God with flimsy excuses–Ooops! My mercy, I hear the cry over and over and it is a cop-out: “I’m only human.” Or often we say, “I made a mistake,” or “I didn’t realize what I was doing.” At least those are honest attempts at the truth. Don’t say, “the devil made me do it,” for Satan can only tempt, he cannot force you to do anything; it is by choice.
God does not ignore or overlook our decisions–we are accountable. Yes, for sure He will forgive if we truly repent, but a person with a repentant heart does not come before God with excuses. We don’t say to him regarding the truth, “Cross my heart and hope to die. Stick a needle in my eye.” Is that sincerity, or trying to pull the wool over God’s eyes?
This all goes back to understanding who God is. There is so much talk of “relationship” that too often we forget that He is the Almighty God, the Creator of the universe. Fear has left our ranks, but that is the first steps to gaining wisdom and knowing Him. Don’t play foolish games with God. Paul said, “When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things.” (1 Corinthians 13:11, NKJV) There are too many people playing Peter Pan in their spiritual lives. Listen! A warrior doesn’t play games! The battle rages, he is serious about life and eternity. Walter Kaiser writes, “Men must learn that their first order of business is to fear God.”
————————————-
When I was a principal and to a lesser degree a classroom teacher, I heard every excuse in the book. When asking a student why they did such and such, they would come up with all kinds of reasons, none of them really the truth. On some students, you get to know who, I would use an honor system. They would promise never to do “it” again. I would take them at their word, but I told them that if they broke our trust that I would come down even harder on them.
“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. Do not let your mouth cause your flesh to sin, nor say before the messenger of God that it was an error. Why should God be angry at your excuse and destroy the works of your hands?”
–Ecclesiastes 5:4-6 (NKJV)
Make a commitment and keep it. People have a tendency to make vows that are shallow and superficial. “Lord, if you help me out of this, I’ll become…” and God knows that the person isn’t going to keep that vow. But I wonder. . . isn’t that a form of bribery, a form of manipulation? God doesn’t bargain with us, oh, it may seem that He does at times, but when he helps us out of trouble it is not because we have promised something; it is because He is our heavenly Father. We must not attempt to bribe God with vows. In other words, do not play games with God!
How many times have you told God, “I’ll never do it again, I promise”? Then two days later you are back on your knees praying the same prayer. That does not negate the original vow. Some hang their heads and let the situation destroy them and drive them into despair. “I’m no good, I keeping breaking my promise.” That does not do away with the original promise. Get up and keep the vow. Strive over and over if need be, but do it. I see only two places in the Bible where a vow can be broken. The father can negate a vow by a daughter, and the husband the wife.
Don’t decide now, then deny later. Don’t go to God with flimsy excuses–Ooops! My mercy, I hear the cry over and over and it is a cop-out: “I’m only human.” Or often we say, “I made a mistake,” or “I didn’t realize what I was doing.” At least those are honest attempts at the truth. Don’t say, “the devil made me do it,” for Satan can only tempt, he cannot force you to do anything; it is by choice.
God does not ignore or overlook our decisions–we are accountable. Yes, for sure He will forgive if we truly repent, but a person with a repentant heart does not come before God with excuses. We don’t say to him regarding the truth, “Cross my heart and hope to die. Stick a needle in my eye.” Is that sincerity, or trying to pull the wool over God’s eyes?
This all goes back to understanding who God is. There is so much talk of “relationship” that too often we forget that He is the Almighty God, the Creator of the universe. Fear has left our ranks, but that is the first steps to gaining wisdom and knowing Him. Don’t play foolish games with God. Paul said, “When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things.” (1 Corinthians 13:11, NKJV) There are too many people playing Peter Pan in their spiritual lives. Listen! A warrior doesn’t play games! The battle rages, he is serious about life and eternity. Walter Kaiser writes, “Men must learn that their first order of business is to fear God.”