The Vow by Ed Gungor
For the last few Sundays I’ve been blogging about The Vow. In chapter ten, Gungor talks about the anatomy of a vow. In our society vows seem to be a foreign thing, except in the context of marriage, but even then I doubt most marriages actually realizing what they’re vowing into. The traditional marriage vows seem to have lost their meaning or power or stickability. Just look at the divorce rate even among Christians if you don’t believe me.
Though vows are foreign in our society, in the early church they were common place. Gungor says, “making vows was as popular as prayer and worship gatherings. Scholars claim the making of vows was practiced by ordinary people all through biblical history, as well as in most religions in the societies surrounding them…I am convinced that the ancient practice of vowing can really help tether our twenty-first-century, helter-skelter lives to the eternal.”
He goes on to examine twelve things you should keep in mind as you approach the practice of vowing. Here are a few that resonated with me.
Number One: “A vow is an act of generosity toward God.” I’ve said before how it would be hard for me to vow into anything at this point in my life because I fear I’d be doing it to change a behavior of mine. Gungor says, ” The point of vowing is love for God, not altering your behavior…If you enter the arena of vowing for the wrong reason…you will make your life and faith harder instead of sweeter.”
Vowing is not about us. It’s not about trying to get God to love us more or to make us better Christians. And here’s the clincher that vowing is not for me right now…”If you cannot consistently do what it is you want to vow to do out of a simple love for God, you have no business trying to vow into the behavior in the first place.” One day I wish to be in that place where I am able to vow for my love of God.
Number Four: “Vows are weighty enterprise. Count the cost.” Gungor explains, “The instant we use the word ‘vow’ there should be a little note of dread in us.” What he’s saying here is vows shouldn’t be entered into lightly. (Isn’t that what the minister says during a wedding ceremony?) But in marriages today, too many people give up when things get tough. In vow making, we don’t give up when it gets tough, but we don’t despair when we fall. We get right back up and continue on. Gungor ends on an interesting note. Justifying that we really were trying isn’t good enough. Trying isn’t enough for the vow maker, only doing counts.”
There is so much to this chapter that’s it’s impossible for me to cover it all. So if vow making sparks an interest in you, pick up copy at my bookstore in the sidebar. Or if you’re a mom, leave a comment and I’ll draw one winner at the end of the day!
Happy Mother’s Day!
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I agree. Our society is thus that we regard the importance of our words and actions, seldom considering how they effect those around us. A vow, to my understanding, should be a seriouse promise, not in that we GAIN from it, but that we give.
The author points out great food for thought. I imagine that it is a slow read, one that needs to be chewed and pondered carefully.
Good, thought provoking post.
Annie
May 11th, 2008 at 4:00 pmHi, It is kind of like our society in that no one wants to take responsibility for their actions! It is always someone else’s fault! I wouldn’t make/take a vow unless I am ready to be responsible for it and not look at it as a responsibility. Thanks,Cindi
May 11th, 2008 at 11:11 pmI have a hard time with non-fiction books. But this one sounds like a good one to read. I guess the non-fiction, the one’s that make you look at yourself, are hard for me to handle. As a christian I know I am lacking in so many areas that to have it there in black and white is tough. Thought provoking isn’t really what I do. Escape is easier. Less confrontational.
May 12th, 2008 at 3:20 pmI really hadn’t thought much about the seriousness of a vow. I guess I equated it with a promise. Both are made to be upheld, but in today’s world we take them way too lightly. This sounds like a book that should be read slowly and often!
May 13th, 2008 at 3:49 pmGina, this is an interesting subject that I don’t know much about. I even went back and read some of your previous Sunday posts, and saw that Mr. Gungor left you a comment last week. That was so nice!
I don’t think I would read the book, but your blogs have provided a lot to think about. Among other things, this speaks to how unbreakable our words should be.
May 13th, 2008 at 5:52 pmI also thought of a vow as a promise, and it reminds me
May 13th, 2008 at 8:44 pmhow strong words are. Anything that comes from our mouths
needs to be true-you really can’t take it back. To me, a vow is
making a note that you mean what you say and will abide by it. Neat to think about!
Happy Mother’s day to you too!
May 13th, 2008 at 8:51 pm