Promises

Have you ever made a promise you didn't keep?

When you make a vow to God, do not delay fulfilling it; for he has no pleasure in fools. Fulfill what you vow. It is better that you should not vow than that you should vow and not fulfill it. - Ecclesiastes 5:4-5

I have learned over the years that desperate people are not always the most reliable or trustworthy.  They will make promises they will fail to keep.

They may intend to live up to their promise, but having succeeded in getting what they want, they fall victim to the temptation to disappear.

So, when someone asks for money and promises to repay it, we may be skeptical.  And here is where our promise to God through Christ may be challenged.

In Luke's Gospel we read, "But love your enemies, do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return.[a] Your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High; for he is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked." (Luke 6:35)

So, what do we do?

The advice in Ecclesiastes is to avoid making the vow in the first place.  If we feel we cannot do what we say we will do, then don't offer it at all.

This works with those we encounter here on earth, but can we tell God we are not fully in, not ready to commit?

When we say Yes to Christ, we make a promise to love God and love our neighbor, so it may be a mute point.  We have already committed.  So, I guess we need to fulfill our vows.

And maybe, as sometimes happens, someone we help will remember and repay the debt.

More to come...