When It Is Better to Break One’s Word

Both these points are very clearly shown in the cases of Saint Peter the apostle and Herod. Peter departed from the resolve he had stated, and had as it were confirmed with an oath, when he said, “You will never wash my feet.” By doing so he gained an immortal partnership with Christ, whereas he would certainly have been cut off from the grace of this blessedness if he had clung stubbornly to his word. But Herod, by clinging to the pledge of his thoughtless oath, became the bloody murderer of the Lord’s forerunner, and through an empty fear of perjury plunged himself into condemnation and the punishment of everlasting death. In everything, then, we must consider the end, and direct our course and aim by it. If some wiser counsel comes along and we see our plan turning toward the worse side, it is better to discard the unsuitable arrangement and come to a better mind than to cling stubbornly to our engagements and so become entangled in worse sins. [a]