In almost 43 years of full time preaching, followed by 16 years of part-time preaching, near the beginning of a new year I would sometimes preach about New Year’s resolutions. One sermon that I occasionally preached had the above title. I do not know from whom I got the idea or the points for the sermon, but they were not original with me. I am using the sermon’s points for this week’s News & Views with the hope that they will stir us and spur us to a closer walk with God as tomorrow we enter a new year and a new decade (or at least the decade of the 2020s). In the coming new year I resolve to …
Work Less – That is, I want to work less for myself and more for the Lord (I Corinthians 15:58).
Think Less – This next year, I want to think less of myself and more of others (Philippians 2:3-4).
Call on Friends Less – I want to be more responsible for myself and less dependent on my friends (Galatians 6:5; Philippians 2:12).
Drink More – Not of alcoholic beverages (of which I do not imbibe and which I would not encourage anyone to drink), but more of the beauty of nature and my surroundings (Psalm 19:1), and more of God’s word, the fountain of spiritual knowledge (Psalm 42:1-2; Matthew 5:6; John 4:13-14).
Watch More TV – That is, I want to watch more TV programs of an educational and uplifting nature (Philippians 4:8).
Spend More Money – I want to spend more money on really good and worthwhile things and less on myself. I want to give more to the cause of Christ, the work of His kingdom, and those who are in need, and to remember that I am not the real owner of anything but only a steward of that which really belongs to the Lord (Acts 20:35; I Corinthians 16:1-2; II Corinthians 9:7; Galatians 6:10).
Stay Up All Hours – To help a friend, a neighbor, or a fellow Christian in their time of sickness, death, or any other need (Galatians 6:2).
Listen To No One – I want to listen to no one gossip, run down another person, tell dirty jokes or stories, or who teaches that which is contrary to the will of God as set forth in scripture (II Corinthians 6:16-7:1; Philippians 4:8; II Timothy 1:13).
Argue More; Be Stubborn – Where moral issues and issues of right and wrong are involved (I Corinthians 16:13-14; Ephesians 5:11; Jude 3).
Worry More – Not about myself and my problems, but about the future of my country, the world, and the church of our Lord (Proverbs 14:34; II Corinthians 11:28).
Ignore My Conscience – That is, when I find it in conflict with the plain teaching of God’s word. I must realize that my conscience can become seared and calloused and not at all a reliable guide for my life (Acts 26:9; I Timothy 4:1-3).
Live It Up – This next year I plan to try to live each day to the fullest, realizing it could be my last day, and that one day will be my last day (Ecclesiastes 12:1-14; John 10:10).
Will you join me in making these wild resolutions for tame living in the New Year?
Happy New Year!
Hugh Fulford