In our New Testament reading for today in the book of Mark 6, we see King Herod making a foolish promise to his niece, “Ask me for anything you want, and I’ll give it to you.” As it ends up, she asks for the head of John the Baptist. Herod was “greatly distressed, but because of his oaths and his dinner guests, he did not want to refuse her.” So John the Baptist, the one who introduced Jesus, was beheaded.
The Bible teaches us the seriousness of promises. Ecclesiastes 5:5 says “It is better not to vow than to make and vow and not fulfill it.” Psalms 15:1:4 says that the person who may dwell in His sanctuary is the one who, “...who keeps his oath even when it hurts.”
But what if you have made a foolish vow, one that you cannot fulfill in good conscience? What can you do? I believe that Proverbs 6 gives the answer: “If you have been trapped by what you said, ensnared by the words of your mouth, then do this, my son, to free yourself…Go and humble yourself; press your plea with your neighbor!...Free yourself, like a gazelle from the hand of the hunter, like a bird from the snare of the fowler…”
Prayer: Lord, please help us to guard our minds and our mouths, so that we will make only promises that honor You. If we make a foolish vow, like King Herod did, please give us the humility and courage to do whatever we can to free ourselves from that promise so that we may continue to walk faithfully with You. In the name of Jesus, Amen.
Teresa Brand
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