New Year's Resolutions?
Leviticus 19:12 "You shall not swear by My name falsely, nor shall you profane the name of your God..."
Deuteronomy 6:13 "You shall fear the LORD your God and serve Him, and shall take oaths in His name."
It would appear from these verses that the taking of an oath is certainly not prohibited, but we need to be careful.
Jesus, in Matthew 5:33-37, recalls the two verses above, and then tells His listeners not to swear by heaven or earth, or Jerusalem, or other things...but "let your 'yes' be 'yes', and your 'no', 'no'...."
Jesus says this to refute the legal experts of His day who had many ways to get around the law, and break their oaths and promises. Jesus does not forbid us to take an oath, but He warns us to speak the truth, and not embellish our conversation with oaths that are supposed to strengthen our words.
We, as Christians, are to have such integrity that people will believe what we say without the necessity of swearing any oath.
A resolution is promising yourself to give up some bad habit, or to develop a new good habit, or maybe change something of your life-style. This is certainly not forbidden by the Word of God. But, if you make that resolution, or oath, in the name of the Lord, watch out!
The real issue is our priorities. How can we prioritize our lives in accordance with God's will? First, we must realize that our time is limited, and we must choose to use our time with Godly wisdom.
Our priorities depend on who we are and where we are. Everyone has priorities, but not all priorities are good in the eyes of God. The top three "resolutions" that people will make this year involve:
- Health and fitness
- Career
- Personal growth and interests
Of all the categories of "resolutions" that people will make this year, none have anything to do with God. Most are concerned with health and fitness....a desire to live longer. Most people's priorities are tied to this life, and this life only. They are concerned with the temporal, not the eternal.
Life spans are getting longer, but they are still short at best. If you live to be 120 years old, what percentage is that of eternity? If we, as born-again believers, are going to spend forever in eternity with the Lord, then it would only make sense to prepare for and look forward to that time.
In the New Year, I think we should work at including the Lord in everything we do, in every aspect of our lives.
1 Corinthians 10:31 "Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God."
Someday, our lives will be surrounded by God. We would do well to get a good start on this relationship right now.
I have always said that we need to put God on a list....and He must be #1 on a list of one, not #3, or #4.
But, I believe that if God has a list, then His Biblical priority would be:
- God
- Family (our earthly family)
- Church (our heavenly family)
- Other (everything else)
If Jesus tarries, and at the end of 2009 we look back, how will we see what our priorities were?
No one can control the length of life, but we do have control of it's width and depth.
To learn more of what God has to say, please listen to the study (link below):
New Years 2009 - Ephesians 5:15-17; Romans 12:1-3
http://biblestudies.aroadinthewilderness.org/2008/12/28/new-years-2009--ephesians-51517-romans-1213.aspx
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