Our wisdom for today is taken from Proverbs 25:14: “Like clouds and wind without rain is the man who boasts of gifts never given.”
When my wife’s father, a farmer, passed away, I met a friend of his at the funeral. He spoke of my father-in-law and gave him an unusual compliment. He said, “He’ll pay you.” As a farmer himself, he praised a man who would make a vow and then keep it, no matter what. “He’ll pay you.” In other words, he kept his word, even when it cost him.
God has that same love for those who keep their word, those He can trust to give the gift they promise.
In Psalms 15:1, King David asked, “Who may dwell in your tabernacle?” Three verses later, he answers, “He who vows to his own hurt and does not change.” Another translation says, “He who does not revise a costly oath.”
Solomon put it more directly in Ecclesiastes 5: verse 4, “When you make a vow to God, do not delay in fulfilling it, because He takes no pleasure in fools. Fulfill your vow.”
In times of drought, clouds and wind without rain bring disappointment. You get your hopes up, only to have them dashed. Keep your vow to God and man. When you promise, keep that promise. It is a sign of your character.
I’m Lonnie Davis, and these are thoughts worth thinking.