Scripturally speaking, a vow involves a solemn promise made to another individual or to God Himself. In our passage, vow is used both as a verb and a noun. Vowing a vow is analogous to someone promising a promise. Men are to keep their word by keeping their promises; or, in other words, men are to be faithfully dependable. When a man makes a promise to God or to another person, he should do everything within his power to keep that promise. The Bible warns against a man allowing his mouth to cause his flesh to sin by making promises with no intention of keeping them. Those who vow a vow to the Lord and fail to perform it are called “fools” and the Lord “hath no pleasure in fools.” Before making any promise, one should first count the cost to determine whether or not making the vow will simply cause him to sin.
True contentment only flourishes within the lives of committed followers of God's word. Three important truths aid in fully comprehending scriptural contentment: (1) Man was born into this world with nothing (1 Timothy 6:7), (2) Upon death, man leaves this earth with nothing (1 Timothy 6:7), and (3) God declares that man should be content when provided with food and raiment (clothing) (1 Timothy 6:8). Understanding and accepting these three truths helps cultivate a true sense of godliness and contentment. This is why the Bible defines godliness combined with contentment as “great gain” and warns those who will be rich that they fall victim to temptations, snares, and many foolish and hurtful lusts (1 Timothy 6:9). Interestingly, the Bible warns the covetous man that all of his earthly possessions during a lifetime of accumulation will be left behind for someone else to enjoy (Ecclesiastes 2:17-21). Contrariwise, the contented man with few possessions has his possessions enlarged into “great gain.”
