Moment of Meditation: One Bad Oath (Acts 23:12)

Original Broadcast: February 2010

Monthly Theme: Second Commandment

When it was day, the Jews made a plot and bound themselves by an oath neither to eat nor drink till they had killed Paul.
(Acts 23:12)

One Bad Oath

More than forty men made this pact. They swore to God that they would ignore their own bodies and their own health until Paul was dead at their feet. Many soldiers have made similar oaths before going into battle. They would set aside their own personal comfort for the common good. One small problem. This pact took place several years before Paul was finally executed.

How many of them do you think made it those many years and fulfilled their vow? None of them. But the commandment against breaking vows was easily set aside by the rabbis as long as the intention was there to fulfill it if at all possible.

God doesn't do vows this way. As with everything else, He holds everyone to a higher standard than we humans do. As St. James tells us, "Let your 'yes' be yes and your 'no' be no, so that you may not fall under condemnation" (5:12). God holds you to the standard that what you say is what you'll do. Make that your practice starting today. Amen.