“Walk
prudently when you go to the house of God, and draw near to hear rather than to
give the sacrifice of fools, for they do not know that they do evil. Do
not be rash with your mouth, and let not your heart utter anything hastily
before God. For God is in heaven, and you on earth. Therefore let
your words be few, for a dream comes through much activity, and a fool’s voice
is known by his many words. 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 5:1-5
The
“vow”, like repentance, is a term not often used in Church language today; and
because it is an often neglected “old” term, we Christians do not seriously
consider the implications of our “rash” words (clergy and laity alike!).
Jesus Himself required of His potential followers to “count the cost” before
making a “vow” (that is, a commitment) to follow Him (Luke 14:28-33),
understanding that there is much ahead of us we cannot see or appreciate until
it is upon us.
We
“vow” before the Lord when we join the Church to support our church with our
prayers, presence, gifts, and service. We “vow” before the Lord that we
will love our spouses, “until death parts us”, as the Lord loves the Church
when we marry. We “vow” before the Lord as we present our children for
the Sacrament of baptism that our children will be taught in and by the Church
what it means to follow the Lord. The congregation itself enters into
that “vow” when the children are presented as baptized members of the Covenant
to support the parents and take their part in the responsibility for raising
that child in the Christian tradition, and yes, to hold the parents accountable
for the “vows” they made just as the parents can hold the church accountable
when help is needed but delayed. This must all be done with ample
forethought; not strictly according to tradition and certainly not on an
emotional whim.
Things
rarely work out the way we expect them to, especially when we enter into a
“vow” simply because it seemed like a good idea at the time. Our Lord
does indeed understand our fickle nature, but there is nothing in the
Scriptures which may suggest that our Lord does not take us at our word.
The “vow” may have been relegated to the “old” covenant by our careless and
incomplete understanding of New Testament theology, but this is our failure,
not a valid excuse – our failure not only in our careless words but also in our
failure to seriously consider what a relationship with the Lord through His
Church is about. It is akin to our “taking the Lord’s name in vain”; that
is, for no useful and holy purpose – “for the Lord will not hold him guiltless
who takes His Name in vain” (Exodus 20:7).
We
must all seriously consider the “vows” we have made to the Lord by invoking His
Name; and if that “vow” has not been or is not being repaid, we must not
“delay” in making right that profound wrong. The Lord has given us Life;
the very least we can do is to take Him at His Word since it is clear He takes
us at our word, weak though it may often be.
Blessings,
Michael
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