Hi,<\/p>\n
I would first like to mention that I often struggle with compulsive or intrusive thoughts. An issue that I’ve particularly been dealing with is a compulsion to condemn myself by making “deals” with God. These thoughts would often range from “If I do (random activity), then God please to that”. Recently I was compelled to condemn myself by telling God in my mind that “I promise to do whatever if you permanently ban me from my hobby of being a car enthusiast,” and “I promise to do this if you permanently ban me from enjoying the rewards of Heaven when I die.” These really upset me because one is something that I am very passionate about and is very close to my heart, and the other pertains to what God has to offer in the next life. In doing this, have I completely lost my right to enjoy these things forever? Would God respond to such requests?<\/p>\n\t
What you are claiming is that men can bind God by their thoughts. There was a time when Moses really wanted God not to destroy the Israelites. “Then Moses returned to the LORD, and said, ‘Alas, this people has committed a great sin, and they have made a god of gold for themselves. But now, if You will, forgive their sin — and if not, please blot me out from Your book which You have written!’<\/em>” (Exodus 32:31-32). God’s answer was that it wasn’t up to Moses to decide the criteria upon which he is saved. People are lost due to sin (Exodus 32:33).<\/p>\n Jesus said not to make vows (Matthew 5:34-37). Our word is enough. You can’t bargain with God. You can ask God for mercy or favors, but it is completely up to God whether He decides to grant your request. Offering to give up something to get God to listen to you is just a rehash of an old idolatrous religion. Worshipers of Molech had the idea that the greater thing you gave up, the more likely Molech would grant your request. What you’ve been doing is treating God as if He was some idol to be manipulated.<\/p>\n I know you feel compulsions and these compulsions lead you to place yourself in situations where you can later condemn yourself. However, you don’t have to give in to the temptations. Realize that God cannot be manipulated, no matter what you offer to sacrifice. God says He answers the prayers of those who do His will, not those to endure the most self-inflicted pain (I John 5:14-15). Therefore, stop making ridiculous promises that God isn’t interested in and that you aren’t able to keep. Start following God’s laws, which includes not making promises. Apologize for making foolish vows and then move on with your life.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Question: Hi, I would first like to mention that I often struggle with compulsive or intrusive thoughts. An issue that I’ve particularly been dealing with is a compulsion to condemn myself by making “deals” with God. These thoughts would often range from “If I do (random activity), then God please to that”. Recently I was…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[20],"tags":[1283,508,965,648,647],"class_list":["post-21651","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-compulsiveness","tag-mental-illness","tag-ocd","tag-promises","tag-vows"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":41946,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/will-god-hold-a-vow-i-made-against-me\/","url_meta":{"origin":21651,"position":0},"title":"Will God hold a vow I made against me?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 21, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hi, I am a Christian. If you can answer this question for me, I would be very thankful. When I was a child I had an obsessive-compulsive disorder. In my thoughts, I would say things that I didn't mean and sometimes things that I meant, but I could not\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":38767,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/i-compulsively-want-to-make-vows\/","url_meta":{"origin":21651,"position":1},"title":"I compulsively want to make vows","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 17, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hello, I have a question about vows. For a year or so, when I become concerned that something I'm doing or might do is sinful, I suddenly start to think a vow to God that I won't do that thing. This happens with no time to think about the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":31692,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/i-am-compulsively-making-vows-in-my-mind-do-i-have-to-keep-them\/","url_meta":{"origin":21651,"position":2},"title":"I am compulsively making vows in my mind. Do I have to keep them?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 25, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hi, I have been going through a time of struggles dealing with so many vows: some intentional and others intrusive or unintentional. I am sure this is greatly related to OCD, but sometimes it doesn't feel that way. For example, one time I was praying and an intrusive thought\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":33529,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/are-promises-only-binding-when-spoken-aloud\/","url_meta":{"origin":21651,"position":3},"title":"Are promises only binding when spoken aloud?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 28, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I used to let my mouth get the best of me. I have learned to watch what I say very closely. The problem I have is this: because I'm trying to be so careful with what I say, I constantly think about whether I promise or vow something. My\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":38803,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-constitutes-a-vow\/","url_meta":{"origin":21651,"position":4},"title":"What constitutes a vow?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 20, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hi Jeffrey, What constitutes a vow is something I've been trying to understand. Can you help me understand from the Bible why you say it's a commitment witnessed by others? It seems like these thoughts I have could be considered rash vows, or they could not be vows at\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":31689,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/can-vows-never-be-broken\/","url_meta":{"origin":21651,"position":5},"title":"Can vows never be broken?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 5, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I have a similar situation as some of the questions you received regarding OCD vows and also the one who sent his question about whether or not he must remain in poverty. Though, whether or not it was a passing thought is still a question for me, because I\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21651","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21651"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21651\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21651"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21651"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21651"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}