Neville Goddard on Ecclesiastes 5:4-5 - Mystical Bible Interpretation

Read Ecclesiastes 5 in context

Scripture Focus

4When thou vowest a vow unto God, defer not to pay it; for he hath no pleasure in fools: pay that which thou hast vowed.

5Better is it that thou shouldest not vow, than that thou shouldest vow and not pay.

Ecclesiastes 5:4-5

Biblical Context

The verses teach that vows to God should be kept; failing to honor them reveals inner inconsistency. Better not to vow than to vow and not pay, preserving integrity of consciousness.

Neville's Inner Vision

Vows are not commands from on high, but declarations of the state you choose to inhabit. When you vow to God, you are naming a future you intend to live into. The payment requested is not money, but the steady, remembered feeling of that state until it becomes your habitual atmosphere. God, the I AM within, has no pleasure in the fool who speaks without inhabiting the imagined reality. Therefore, guard your inner covenant with care: speak only what you are willing to live by, and persist in your conviction with a quiet, unwavering attention. If you fail to pay, you teach your subconscious that the state you proclaimed is not yours; your world will follow that doubt. So prune your vows to those you can honor, or revise them into simple, actionable interpretations of your desired state. Your life is the story of the inner decree you refuse to forget, and you are always free to return to that decree with renewed feeling. The moment you renew it, the door opens to manifesting a new experience from within.

Practice This Now

Practice: select a single inner vow you can honor today. In imagination, assume the feeling of its fulfillment as already true, and then act in a way that reflects that vow.