By a show of hands, how many of you
are planning on making a New Year’s Resolution? Anybody? I don’t think new year’s
resolutions are as popular as they used to be. They’ve kind of lost some of
their luster, probably because we live in a skeptical society and we’ve come to
the point where we say, “I’m not going to make any resolutions, because I know
I won’t be able to keep them.” Why fool ourselves. I had a conversation with
someone the other day and I asked if she ever made new years resolutions, and
she said every year she makes the same resolution: she resolves not to make a
new years resolution. And she’s never failed in keeping that one.
For those who do make resolutions,
I’ve noticed that they seem to fall into one of three categories. In the first
category, the resolution usually deals with getting healthy, you know by
dieting or exercise or cutting out a bad habit like smoking or drinking or
something like that. I call these resolutions of longevity, ones that are
designed to prolong our lives.
The second category of resolution
usually deals with making money or getting more stuff or something like that. I’m
going to work hard enough this year to get a raise or a promotion, or I’m going
to start my own business, or I’m going to begin saving for retirement, or I’m
going to buy a new car, something like that. A resolution that gets you ahead
in life, and I call these resolutions of prosperity, a resolution that makes us
more prosperous.
The third category of resolution
usually deals with relationships. I’m going to spend more time with my kids or
grandkids, I’m going to start talking to my mother again, I’m going to start
trying to be nicer to the neighbors, or I’m going to get involved in a charity
of some sort. And I call these resolutions of peace, resolutions that bring
peace to our relationships with others.
So you have resolutions of longevity,
ones that help us to live longer, resolutions of prosperity, ones that help us
to get ahead in life, and resolutions of peace that help us to live in harmony
with one another. Does that sound about right? I think in general those are the
kinds of resolutions that we see.
Well many, many centuries ago there
lived a man who made himself some resolutions. They weren’t New Year’s
resolutions, but they might as well have been because they fell into the three
categories that we talked about: longevity, prosperity, and peace. The man was
Solomon, the son of King David, and the new king of
This morning, I’d like to dig into
those a little bit, because I think they can easily be applied to our own lives,
and once we understand them, they may be resolutions that we ourselves can
make, without worrying about breaking them by February. They are resolutions
that can stick with us our whole lives, because as we will see, the source of
the resolve is not ourselves, but God’s purpose for us in how we ought to live
our lives. It’s not just self-improvement, it is God-improvement of your life.
Let’s begin by checking out verses 1
and 2 of chapter 3. “My child, do not forget my teaching, but let your heart
keep my commandments; for the length of days and years of life and abundant
welfare they will give you.” Did you hear that? Length of days and years of
life – that’s longevity, and abundant welfare – that’s prosperity. How do we
gain longevity and prosperity? Well according to Solomon, we gain longevity and
prosperity by holding onto and obeying the commandments and teachings of God.
See, people back in Solomon’s time wanted the same stuff we want now. They
wanted to live long, happy, prosperous, peaceful lives. The wisest man in the
world was no different. He wanted all of those things, too. And how did he
begin to obtain those things? What’s the first thing he says we need to do to
reach those goals? Remember and obey the commandments of God. Such a simple idea,
but we have such a hard time doing it.
Let’s move on to the next couple of
verses, verses 3 and 4, still in chapter 3. “Do not let loyalty and
faithfulness forsake you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet
of your heart. So you will find favor and good repute in the sight of God and
of people.” So what’s being said here: we need to be loyal and faithful, to God
and to one another. Why? So you will find favor and good repute in the sight of
God and people. Basically, you will find peace. If we are loyal and faithful to
God and we are loyal and faithful to one another, we will be able to live at
peace with one another.
And if you think about it, that makes
perfect sense. I mean, have you ever asked somebody, “What do you look for in a
friend?” And they don’t mention loyalty? That just doesn’t happen. Think about
Benedict Arnold, the traitor from the revolutionary war. His lack of loyalty
has made him infamous. Loyalty is essential in our relationships, not just with
others, but with God. God has been loyal and faithful to us, and we are called
to be loyal and faithful to him as well. And a promise comes with that. You
will find favor and good repute in the sight of God and of people. In other
words, you will live in peace with one another.
The next two verses are some of the
most famous verses from the book of Proverbs. Proverbs 3:5-6 “Trust in the Lord
with all your heart, and do not rely on your own insight or understanding. In
all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight. I think
this is a really great passage. What is basically being said here is if you
trust completely in God, if you say, “God I want you to make the big decisions
in my life,” and you recognize that your own ability and knowledge will never
take you as far as God wants to take you, when you do all of that, God will
guide you down a path that will lead to prosperity.
Such a simple idea, and yet it is so
hard to do, to just turn stuff over to God and say, “Your will be done.”
Instead, we basically kill ourselves trying to get ahead in life, working
ridiculous hours and scratching and clawing to reach for prosperity. Solomon is
telling us that there is a much easier way to gain prosperity. All you have to
do is give up control.
Isn’t that like the opposite of what
we try to do? I want to be prosperous, so I need to do more! No, instead
Solomon is saying, if you want to be prosperous, you should give everything,
all control over to God.
The difference is, you gain a new
perspective on prosperity, on what it means to be prosperous. Can I tell you
that I feel like the richest man in this room? I have an amazing, beautiful
wife. My daughter is so wonderful and full of life, I have a job where I get to
talk about Jesus all day. I’m a part of that tiny percentage of the world’s
population that has a car. The square footage of the house that we live in
would hold over 100 people in many countries. If my family is ever in need, we
have family and friends coming out of the woodwork to help us. We cannot help
but feel rich and prosperous. And I can honestly tell you that all stems from
one decision that Holly and I made while we were engaged: we decided to turn
over our lives, our future, and our plans for prosperity to God and where God
would take us. That one decision has made me the richest man in this room. And
I have done nothing to earn it, only to follow God and to give him the glory
wherever he takes us. Trust 100% in God for your future, and prosperity will
follow.
Verses 7 and 8 say “Do not be wise in
your own eyes; fear the Lord, and turn away from evil. It will be a healing for
your flesh and a refreshment for your body.” This is great, do you hear what is
being said? Do not be wise in your own eyes – basically, be humble before God
and men. Fear the Lord – which doesn’t mean you should be afraid of God, it
means you should view God as the authority in your life and in the world, And
turn away from evil – I think we know what that means. Stop doing bad stuff!
And what is the promise that comes from these resolutions? “It will be a
healing for your flesh and a refreshment for your body!” How great is that! You
know a while back
The next two verses, verses 9 and 10
say “Honor the Lord with your substance and with your first fruits of all your
produce; then your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will be
bursting with wine.” Now who doesn’t want vats bursting with wine? As long as
you don’t have white carpet. No, again I think this is a great promise about
prosperity, and this does seemed to be geared more towards wealth and earthly
goods. God says, if you are willing to give me the best of what you have, I’ll
make sure you never go wanting. In fact, I will bless you beyond what you could
even imagine!
Isn’t that cool? Now let me clarify.
Solomon isn’t saying here, “If you give 10% of your paycheck to the church
every week then you will have even more money.” This is not a get rich quick
scheme. He is saying God wants you to honor him with the best of what you have.
That means the leather seats in your Caddy aren’t too nice to give a ride to a
homeless man. If we take it seriously, that means when we put up the mitten
tree or we give to Chopin Hall, we aren’t giving out of our left-overs, we are
giving the best of what we have. First fruits are the best of what you have and
they come before you are sure you will have more to replace them. That means
when your paycheck comes, the tithe comes out first, and not if there is some
left over.
I actually saw a really great example
of what this looks like the other day in just an every day situation. An old
woman was in a parking lot trying to scrape ice off of her windows with her
gloves. She didn’t have an ice scraper. I then saw another woman come over and
scrape her windows for her, and then she gave the old woman her ice scraper to
keep. That’s what’s being talked about here. And God promises that if we act
with this charity to towards God and towards one another, that we will be
blessed beyond what we give.
Finally, verses 11 and 12 I think kind
of encompass all of these things, in a pretty profound way. “My child, do not
despise the Lord’s discipline or be weary of his reproof, for the Lord reproofs
the one he loves, as a father the son in whom he delights.” Like we talked
about at the beginning, the reason very few people make new year’s resolutions
any more is because we know that we don’t have the discipline to keep them.
Here, God wants us to know that if we will resolve in these ways, if we will
make these resolutions that Solomon made so many years ago, then God will help
to keep us on the right track. God will discipline us just as a father
disciplines a son. We might look at that and say, “No, thank you!” But God
knows we can’t do these things on our own, and God knows that if we would do
these things: if we would follow him, if we would flee from evil and be
faithful to him, if we would trust in him, then we would gain those three
things we are so desperately trying to get in our lives: longevity, prosperity,
and peace.
We’re starting a new year. If you’ve
given up on new years resolutions, I’d challenge you this year to try these
resolutions on for size. Read them over daily. Tell God, “I’m ready to trust in
you. I’m ready to do what it takes to have longevity, prosperity, and peace,
even if it means turning all control over to you.” Amen.
Van Buren United
Pastor Dan Metzger