“A Child's Promise”

Monday, April 22, 2013

Hello!  So I have a very strange question to ask.  You see, as a child, I tended to over do things, and well, not think ahead, although, I like to think I'm still young.  So, one night, while praying, and this was after learning about giving up things for the Lord, I promised something along the lines of being like the Virgin Mary and never getting involved in sexual acts.  Ever.  Now, I fully plan on waiting ‘til marriage.  That's not an option for me to not wait.  But my question is, what should I do?  I made this promise to the Lord, but I did not remotely know what I was promising.  I believe I was only eight or nine.  Should I keep it or trust in the Lord that He understands?

I have been wondering about this for a very long time, and any advice and guidance will be very welcome!  Thank you so much, and I hope you have a wonderful day!

Sincerely,
Waiting

Dear Waiting,

Children make promises all the time that they are not legally bound to because... they are children.  God says that children have foolishness bound up in their hearts (Pr 22:15).  Eccl 5:4-5 makes it clear that a vow is a very sacred and binding thing, but that verse applies to adults.  Children are still under the authority of their parents (Eph 6:1) until they reach adulthood.  They don't have the authority to make such grave and long-term commitments as you did.  If an eight or nine-year-old vowed to give all of their money for the next fifty years to the poor... the parents' will and wisdom would supersede that charitable, innocent, and foolish promise.  Your situation is the same.  In Num 30:1-5, we see that in the Old Testament, God specifically said that children didn't have the power to make and keep vows that their parents disagreed with.  We here at AYP are pretty sure that this would count as one of those kinds of vows.

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