Vows

There are things that for one reason or another have fallen out of the preaching repertoire of the church. One of those is a teaching on the making of vows. In this case, I think I can sniff out the cause: A vow sounds like a deal, or bargaining---and we are against the idea of bargaining with God. Also, a vow sounds uncomfortably like "works righteousness," another thing we rightly stay away from. So we build a fence around the true and good doctrine, and then another fence around that, just to make sure. Sometimes our fence is so wide it leaves out good things with the bad.

Vows are all over the Bible. In Numbers, the making of them comes with instructions (Numbers 30). In Psalm 50, God confides to us that though he commands animal sacrifice, he is not really hungry. What he finds more delectable from our hands is three things: offering him thanksgiving, calling on him in the day of trouble, and keeping our vows (50:14,15).

Job made a "covenant" with his eyes not to look at women. I have made a similar covenant, and I have found, existentially speaking, that the value of taking a vow or making covenant before God is two-fold---it shows God my earnestness, and it focuses my will and obedience. If you have no target you won't hit it.

As a general observation, I have seen that some of the preaching emphases that have fallen by the wayside in one church or denomination are kept alive in another. This is the value of making friends across denominational divides, loving people from God's other folds. We need each other; none of us alone is complete.

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