Website of the Gorlovka and Slavic diocese
Diligence in small things is better than great zeal, for which our spiritual strength is not enough.
The righteous Joachim and Anna made a vow to dedicate the child to God - and gave the three-year-old Virgin Mary to the Temple. What is a vow? Can it be given to Christians if the Savior said “do not swear”? What are the consequences of breaking a vow? Archpriest Nikolai Nikolenko answers these questions.
What is the threat of an oath to an Orthodox person?
In conversations you can often hear a person swearing by something in the desire to convince his interlocutor. Sometimes this is done so frivolously that a person does not even think about the consequences. But the word is the power with which the Lord created the world, heaven, earth and all creatures. It can either raise a person or kill him. It’s not in vain that children ask for their parents’ blessing. And the curse of the mother is considered the most murderous expression.
You need to speak, and especially swear, meaningfully, because it carries danger. For an Orthodox person, an oath is a sin if he cannot fulfill it. The Holy Scripture says that if you have made an oath, then try to fulfill it quickly, because the Lord will ask the person giving it. Otherwise, he receives punishment for an unrestrained word, causing harm to himself.
The bottom line is that a person will not have to answer for his words, and take sin on his soul, if he fulfills his promise on time. But you don’t have to swear, because if a person is telling the truth, then he doesn’t need any confirmation or persuasion. The main thing is to remain an honest person before yourself, the Lord, and people.
What is a vow?
A vow is a promise. We make vows to God in the sacrament of Holy Baptism: to live by faith, study the Holy Scriptures, keep the commandments. In the sacrament of Marriage, those entering into marriage make a promise before God to be faithful to each other. When a priest is ordained, he also makes vows: to observe the apostolic rules, to perform divine services according to church rites, to live piously. Warriors take an oath - a vow to serve the Motherland and, if necessary, give their lives for it.
Many people, finding themselves in difficult situations, made vows to God: “Lord, if I go through this meat grinder, I will change my life forever.” Honored veteran, participant in hostilities Ivan Mikhailovich Voronov made a vow to God and after the end of the Great Patriotic War he entered a monastery. He became Archimandrite Alipius, a famous icon painter and governor of the Pskov-Pechersky Monastery.
A vow is not an exchange: “You give me health or life, and I give you this.” In no case. A person in difficult moments of his life no longer sees help from anywhere except from God, and in gratitude for his non-abandonment he wants to give him everything he has... So righteous Anna, the mother of the Most Holy Theotokos, brought Her to the Temple according to a vow. This was the mutual desire of the righteous couple: after all, if Joachim had been against it, then the Virgin Mary would have remained to be raised in the family.
In our church the image of righteous Anna is especially revered. Every Tuesday before him I perform a prayer service with the reading of an akathist. The words of this service reveal the depth of the vow made by righteous Anna: all her life she endured reproaches due to childlessness with gratitude to God. The Virgin Mary was the child of their old age. By human standards, making a vow to God “if I give birth to a child in my old age, I will bring him to the temple” would be madness. Only a person with deep faith and endless love for God can say such words.
A vow can be made about any good deed that we want to dedicate to God. The main thing is to be guided by love for Him. There are no “big” and “small” vows: any good done for the sake of God is important in this world.
What to do if you break your oath?
If a person vowed to do something or, conversely, not to do something, and then broke this oath, then he committed an oath and is obliged to atone for it. The expiatory actions (kaffarah) that are performed in such cases are described in detail in the Qur'an: “Allah will not punish you for idle oaths, but He will punish you if you sealed the oaths [with intention]. In atonement for [violation of such an oath] you must feed ten poor people with the average of what you feed your families, or clothe them, or free a slave. And whoever cannot do this, must fast for three days" (Sura 5 “Meal”, verse 89)
Can a bishop or priest dissolve a vow?
It happens that a vow is displeasing to God. Metropolitan Longinus (Zhar), who created a shelter for more than 400 children, told the following story. One day a woman came to the temple where he served, whose newborn child was dying. She fell in front of the icon and made a rash vow, if he was healed, to bring him to the temple at three years old and leave him there. She came. She brought the healed child to Bishop Longin, shedding tears. In the end, she couldn’t stand it and said: “I will die without him.” Vladyka tells her: “Mommy, take the child, go home.” He read a prayer of permission over her and blessed them.
Bishop Longinus freed a woman from the sin of violating a vow, but I have never heard of a priest or bishop being able to cancel the vow itself. In some cases, only a bishop, endowed with greater power before God than a priest, can give permission from the most serious sins, remove penance or a ban on participating in church sacraments.
Think ten times
Is it worth making any vow other than those laid down in the sacraments of the Church? Everyone must decide this for themselves - according to their spiritual age. If in doubt, it is better not to make rash vows, but to ask God for the gift of reasoning. The best adviser for a Christian is Holy Scripture. It contains examples of the righteous Joachim and Anna, who, by vow, gave their Child to the Temple forever, John the Baptist and John the Theologian, who forever preserved their virginity. They were the greatest saints.
Will we be able to do something similar, go through the same sorrowful and difficult path as them, or is it better not to dare? Diligence in small things is better than great zeal, for which our spiritual strength is not enough. God is more pleased with the repentance, humility and patience we bring than any promises if they make us suffer all our lives.
How to make a vow correctly if you still decide to do it? The Holy Scriptures are silent about this. The only guide in this is our heart.
A vow is a mutual decision between God and man. In the sacrament of Baptism we make a promise to be with God. But does this depend only on us? The horse runs on four legs and then stumbles. How can a person with only two never trip and fall in his life! On our part, we make a promise to trust in God, but God Himself decides whether to be near us.
Why can't you swear?
Because a vow cannot always be fulfilled. The priest's answer to questions about whether it is possible to make vows to God is ambiguous. The church minister recommends carefully weighing all the pros and cons, and only after that decide whether to take a vow. After all, breaking a vow is fraught with a lot of consequences, the main one of which is another sin on the soul. And the more promises the Orthodox fail to fulfill, the heavier the burden on his soul.
An epidemiologist said whether re-vaccination with Sputnik V is possible
Planets with hidden oceans beneath their crust could be habitable
The craftswoman showed what beauty she makes from egg trays: there’s no shame in giving as a gift
Jesus had a lot to say, but He watched His words so as not to say too much, but only what the Father wanted.
John 8:26 I have much to say and judge about you; but He who sent Me is true, and whatever I have heard from Him, that is what I speak to the world.
Deception of God
Scripture warns us that God pays attention to what we promise Him and how we keep the promise.
Eccl.5:3 “When you make a vow (promise) to God, do not hesitate to fulfill it, because He does not take pleasure in fools: what you have promised, do it.”
James 5:12 “Above all, my brethren, do not swear by heaven or earth, or by any other oath, but let your yea be yes and your no, no, so that you will not fall into condemnation. » (not to be judged)
Examples of deceptions and empty promises to God.
- Lord I swear...
- Lord I promise...
- Lord, if You heal me, I will serve You faithfully.
- If you help me with finances, I will sow a lot to the church.
- Give me a new job and I'll attend church more often.
- If You give me a husband, we will serve You together.
- If You give me, then I...
- I won't do this again, God believe me.
Before we promise anything to God, we must be willing to give an account for what we say. If you promised God something and did not fulfill it, then you better come to Him with repentance and ask for forgiveness. Some do not receive blessings because of this deception. If we have deceived God, then it is better to ask for forgiveness.
Think about this for a few minutes and ask the Holy Spirit to remind you if there were any promises to God that you did not keep.
Prayer of repentance for empty promises to God - Heavenly Father, I come to You, in the Name of Jesus Christ, - I repent before You that I did not fulfill my promise _______ - forgive me for this deception and disobedience - help me not to do this in the future. - Father, I thank You for forgiving me. — I prayed in the Name of Jesus Christ. Amen!
Dangerous words, incorrect statements, beliefs
Very often, people suffer from their own language. Our words have a certain power to create or destroy, we must not forget about this. Scripture warns that what we say will affect us.
Proverbs 18:21 “By the fruit of a man’s mouth his belly is filled; He is satisfied with the product of his mouth.”
Proverbs 6:2 “You have ensnared yourself in the words of your mouth, you have been caught in the words of your mouth.”
Example. As a child, the girl did not like boys and she said to herself that when she grew up, she would not have boys. After getting married, she started having problems. She had miscarriages many times, but the girls were still born. As she prayed, God reminded her of the oath she had taken as a child. When she repented and broke this oath, her miscarriages stopped and a boy was born.
We must be very careful with the words that come out of our mouths. But it is important to understand that not everything we said before will affect us. It all depends on many factors such as; the faith with which it was pronounced, the time, certain circumstances.
Now we will give some examples of incorrect promises, maybe you recognize yourself or have said something similar to this. Check yourself, if what you promised or swore has consequences today, it means it worked against you. If you said something, but there are no consequences according to what you said, then do not take it to yourself.
For example. Two people once let it out of their mouths; - you're still not married? - God forbid that I’m not normal!
As a result, the one who got married did not have this oath work. But the one who did not marry, then that person fell under the influence of this oath.
Examples of incorrect statements and promises.
- I will never marry the first person I meet. Possible consequences; loneliness, divorce, unsuccessful love, terrible character, etc.
- I will never be weak (ouch) - (men don't cry, I'm a strong woman) Possible consequences; a hard heart, an inability to be emotional, to experience the touch of God.
- The way I eat, how can I be healthy Possible consequences; various diseases.
- I will never be like my father, mother, leader, pastor Possible consequences; misunderstanding with loved ones, no relationships, no common interests, complete opposite
- I know no one can be trusted in this life except God. Possible consequences; distrust of everyone, skepticism, criticism, condemnation, suspicion, no unity with others.
- I will never be second, last Possible consequences; careerism, rebellion, disobedience, conflicts, dominance, control, manipulation
Let us now pray and ask the Holy Spirit if we have made similar promises or vows. Write down on paper the statements that you remember.
Prayer for the destruction of abnormal vows, promises and statements. - Heavenly Father, I pray now, in the Name of Jesus Christ, - I confess that I made oaths and false promises - when I said _______ (tell God what your oath was). “In the name of Jesus, I now renounce these promises and oaths.” - I cancel all these words. “I recall the assignments in the spiritual sphere,” and destroy the power of these words over my entire life. - over my spirit, thoughts, emotions, decisions and my body. “Every spirit that was intended to fulfill this oath, I cast you out, in the Name of Jesus Christ, go away and never return to me again.” “Thank you Lord that I am redeemed and free - from all consequences of this oath, everything is destroyed, I am free,” Heavenly Father, I prayed now in the name of Jesus Christ. - And I accept now, Your will for my life. “Let Your Kingdom come and Your will be done, here on earth as in heaven.” - Amen!
Conclusion Take the time to search the scriptures for the right promises and statements that you need to accept and speak. Replace the wrong with the right. For example, if you had an incorrect oath regarding health, then confess the scriptures regarding life, healing and health. Do the same with every vow or promise you renounce today. It is very important that lies be replaced with God's truth.
How to answer or promise something correctly? We don't need to use such words and expressions in the first place; - I always, I never, I promise, I decide, I swear, I assure It’s more correct to say; - I’ll try, I’ll try, I really want to, if God willing, I don’t promise...
Examples. “Lord, I promise that I will never renounce or betray You. - Lord, help me to always be faithful to You, protect me. - I assure you that this is a profitable business, you won’t regret it, I’ve thought through everything. - I think this is good business and if God is good to us, then everything can work out - Lord, if You give me a husband, I swear that I will serve You more. “Lord, I really want to serve You more, if my husband helps me with this, then bring him into my life.”
As you can see, there is nothing difficult, we just need to stay awake and watch the words and promises that we say.
