“I promise!” We hear it all the time, we say it all the time, but do we mean it all the time? I'm sure all of us have broken a promise or two. With every divorce comes broken promises, unkept vows. What does God's word tell us about breaking promises?

“If you make a promise to God, keep your promise. Don’t be slow to do what you promised. God is not happy with fools. Give God what you promised to give Him. It is better to promise nothing than to promise something and not be able to do it. So don’t let your words cause you to sin.” Ecclesiastes 5:4-7

“If you make a vow to the Lord your God, don’t avoid keeping it. The Lord your God expects you to keep it. You would be guilty of a sin if you didn’t. If you didn’t make a vow, you would not be guilty. Make sure you do what you said you would do in your vow. You freely chose to make your vow to the Lord your God.” Deuteronomy 23:21-23

Breaking your vows to God is serious business. It is a sin and could very well end up costing you. I urge you to read from the book of Judges chapter 11 regarding a man of valour who made a vow with God and the end results of that vow.

I end with this...

God will always keep His end of your vow. Perhaps that's why Jesus taught in Matthew 5 to not swear, vow or promise, but to let your yes be yes and your no be no. Anything beyond that is sin. Good intent is not a defense when facing God.