I’m sure you’ve heard the term covenant ** in the Bible.
- God made a covenant with Noah, vowing that He would never again destroy the world by flood.
- God made a covenant with Abram, and his descendants became the people of Israel.
Nowadays, the most common covenant is made in marriage. It’s not a contract, like some 
would try to tell you. It’s a covenant, meant to be a holy and lasting commitment.
So, what exactly does a covenant entail?
First, a covenant between people or between man and God is made because of love. If we read I Samuel 18:1-4, we see that Jonathan initiated a covenant with David because he loved him. In more poetic language, The King James Version says their souls were knit together.
Next, a covenant between people or between people and God has promises. Those promises are evidenced by the gifts or vows that are exchanged at a covenant ceremony or enactment. They signify a joining of weakness to strength, of bounty to lack, of two becoming members of one family.
A covenant made in sin and judgment has promises, too, but those promises are negative. They end up as punishment. 
How is a covenant different from a contract?
- A covenant is meant to last forever. A contract is in effect only to an agreed-upon date.
- A covenant may be added to, but not subtracted from. A contract may be changed at any time the parties agree to it.
- A covenant is much stronger than a contract. A contract may be within a covenant, but a covenant can’t be part of a contract.
- A covenant is more than the legal agreement of a contract, It’s a spiritual agreement with legal ramifications.
So, if you entered into a covenant with that behavior you hated in someone else, as in the example
anger → judgment → vow → covenant → law → repeated bad behavior, (“Oh, the Vows We Make“)
then it’s about time you negated that whole cycle. (This is done in prayer, of course, not in person.)
Here’s the pattern:
Repent for judging the other person. It doesn’t matter if you were a child or didn’t know you were doing it. God is the one true judge.
You will likely have to break unholy soul ties, (“Blessed be the {Soul} Ties that Bind . . . or not“).
Express forgiveness to the other person (living or dead) and bless them with peace.
Ask God if you did make a vow, and what it was.
Declare that you know making the vow was wrong. In Jesus’ name, break the vow you made and state that you come out of agreement with the covenant that resulted. Turn it all over to God and if/when you see that old behavior again, repent and ask Him for help and guidance. Repeat as needed.
You are a covenant child of God. Get rid of any covenant that is not of Him.
** This is a bare-bones overview of covenant. To learn more, please go to www.mtnsong4square.org and click on “sermons”. You will find an entire series devoted to the subject.
this is part 2 of a 2 part series on inner vows
part 1| Oh, The Vows We Make
all illustrations courtesy of freedigitalphotos.net