It is a trap to dedicate something rashly and only later to consider one's vows.
Proverbs 20:25 NIV
In painful situations, we tend to make declarations about ourselves to avoid suffering in the future. Such declarations are inner vows or promises we make to ourselves, often including the words ever or never. Such promises, even the ones that sound positive, are always destructive. They are why many Christians live in the bondage of poverty, abuse, sickness, and loneliness. They are also why many people who know better become abusive and manipulative.
Some examples of inner vows are:
"No one will ever control me."
"No one will ever treat me like that again."
I'll never let anyone break my heart again
"I'll never forgive ______for what they did."
"No one is ever going to bully me."
"No one will ever humiliate me like that again."
I thought the friend of mine who shared with me for the first time how destructive inner vows can be was pulling my leg. I had never heard of such a thing, but after reading about it, I thanked her immensely for opening my eyes to the subject. When we make an inner vow, we open the door to our enemy, the devil, to bring destruction to our lives.
Inner vows are evil because they originated in the heart of satan himself. The book of Isaiah tells us that satan said: I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation on the farthest sides of the north (Isaiah 14:13). Satan sat God's will for his life aside and decided to do his own will. He put his desires over God's desire for him. The root of satan's inner vow was pride.
When we make an inner vow, even if our reason to make it is our protection or the protection of others, we declare our lack of trust in God. Pain blinds us, and as the Bible says, rashly and without considering what we are saying, we put our will over God's will and make a binding promise to ourselves.
My friends, let us not forget that we surrendered our will to God when we came to Christ. Who are we to draw a line on the sand and tell God or ourselves, "I will not cross this line?" What right does the clay have to tell the potter, "Do not turn me into a cup?" Do not allow present pain o your fear of the future to bring rebellion or pride to your life. Every time we make inner vows, instead of protecting ourselves, we curse ourselves, for nothing good comes from pride or rebellion.
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