In the Old Testament vows were taken very seriously. The positive side of this topic in the Old Testament was that a vow was taken more seriously than many modern written contracts. The negative side of this topic in the Old Testament was that at least two people died due to foolish vows and stubborn pride.
Deuteronomy 23:21-23 When you make a vow to the Lord your God, you shall not delay to pay it, for it would be sin in you, and the Lord your God will surely require it of you. However, if you refrain from vowing, it would not be sin in you. You shall be careful to perform what goes out from your lips, just as you have voluntarily vowed to the Lord your God, what you have promised.
How does that work for coerced vows of celibacy, or truth telling in a court of law, or pledges of allegiance, or broken marriage vows? Jesus did mention some overall principles regarding the spirit of this law.
Matthew 5:33-37 “Again, you have heard that the ancients were told, ‘You shall not make false vows, but shall fulfill your vows to the Lord.’ But I say to you, make no oath at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, or by the earth, for it is the footstool of His feet, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. Nor shall you make an oath by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. But let your statement be, ‘Yes, yes’ or ‘No, no’; anything beyond these is of evil.
The foolishness of swearing by a stack of Bibles, or our mother’s grave, are modern equivalents of invoking superstitious objects to coerce our truth-telling. A Bible, a raised right hand and an oath in a courtroom are merely modern leverages to try and coerce truth. Christians ought to not need such pressure to tell the truth, but always give truthful testimony anyway.
What do you do when the ethics in the church is worse than that of the world? What do you do when you are slandered in a church meeting, remembering that the word devil means slanderer? What do you do when someone lies about you in church, remembering who is the father of lies? What do you do when bullies in the church engage in defamation of your character and toss you aside like unwanted trash? The church ought to be better than this, but remember, it was religious leaders who called for Jesus’ death and encouraged false witnesses to testify against Him. True Christians can expect to be lied about in the world, and at times even in the church. Remember Jesus’ words, Father forgive them; they don’t know what they are doing!
