Vows

I have been advised not to make vows¹.

Why is that? Do they not solidify one's resolve in the most trying of times? Do they not lend aid to one's spirit in the trials of life?

But perhaps that is just it: you seek the aid of one other than the lover of your heart. He is a jealous lover² and will spare no suitor you entertain, but lovingly and as gently as is best tears them from your grasp to offer a far better love than any you could imagine.

Here thrives the might of the Most High. No, I will not vow to live a certain way. May my strength come from God Almighty³ and wisdom and prudence from his hand⁴. Let me not vow by my might and will, for they are as fickle as straw in the breeze, but may my God, the One in Whom I Trust, fill me with his spirit and power⁵ that I might be more than I am and all I have been called to be: a spark, a light in the darkness⁶, a witness to the light⁷, a child of the Living God⁸.

¹ Matt 5:33-37

² Exodus 34:14

³ Genesis 49:24, Exodus 15:2

⁴ James 1:5, Proverbs 2:6-8

⁵ 2 Timothy 1:7

⁶ Isaiah 58:9-10, Matt 5:14-16

⁷ Acts 1:8, 1 Peter 3:15

⁸ John 1:12, Psalm 82:6, Romans 8:14-17