Remember Your Vows

You probably said something along the lines of "for better or worse, in sickness and in health," and this is pretty much all encompassing, whether you think you "fell out of love" or not. There are reasons that God says that it's okay to break these vows, but other than that, that vow that you made is binding between you and your spouse and God.

Read Judges 11 about Jephthah and his vow. He kept it. Don't make vows unless you intend on keeping them. Ecclesiastes 5:4-6 "When you make a vow to God, do not delay to fulfill it. He has no pleasure in fools; fulfill your vow. It is better not to make a vow than to make one and not fulfill it. Do not let your mouth lead you into sin." Making a vow of marriage is a big deal, and so is breaking it. Even Jesus speaks against making oaths and Divorce in Matthew 5.

When you break a vow, you become a liar. God can and has dealt harshly with liars... not to mention it's a sin to lie as well. Think about the story of Ananias and Sapphira in Acts 5. They were husband and wife that were members of a congregation of believers that shared their possessions. They even went as far as selling property and giving the money to support the needy. There were no needy in this church, they shared everything they had. That's one great example of community right there. God doesn't expect us to become socialist nations or anything, nor to go to this extent, but this is extreme brotherly love in action to give us an example of sacrifice for one another. Needless to say, Ananias and Sapphira, husband and wife conspired together to sell their property and claim that they were giving it all to the church, but hold some back for themselves. The Greek used here for "kept back" means to purloin or steal. You would think that this is their money and they can do with it how they want. That would be true if they didn't make a vow to God to give all the money to him. Read here from Acts 5.

3Then Peter said, "Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and have kept for yourself some of the money you received for the land? 4Didn't it belong to you before it was sold? And after it was sold, wasn't the money at your disposal? What made you think of doing such a thing? You have not lied to men but to God."

The obvious explanation for why they would be confronted would be that they had to have made a vow to God to give it all - they used to call this Corban, setting apart something for God. Ananias and Sapphira died within 3 hours of each other. Pretty harsh punishment for breaking a vow. Imagine how that could have torn the early churches apart if God didn't harshly punish embezzlers, liars, and thiefs working within the church. God considers vows a huge deal, and they should be to you. Don't give up on your vows. Don't lie to God.