Proverbs 11:7-8 

⁷ Hopes placed in mortals die with them; all the promise of their power comes to nothing. ⁸ The righteous person is rescued from trouble, and it falls on the wicked instead.

New Year’s Resolution

            As the year ends in few days, maybe, people are thinking about resolutions.

Did you ever wonder how New Year’s Resolution started? According to available historical records, New Year’s Resolution had been practised by the Babylonians, 2000 BC or 2000 years before the birth of Christ on earth.

The Babylonians celebrated the New Year for 12-day festival as start of farming season; they promised to pay their debts or return farm equipments they may have borrowed (which make sense for an agriculturally based society).

Personally, have you ever written a list of New Year’s Resolution? Did you promise yourselves to make changes in your habits? Did you promise yourselves to exercise more? How many promises you made that you have actually fulfilled?

Here’s something we may consider: If we cannot fulfill a promise we make for our own selves, is it easier to trust other people to fulfill their promises to us?

Let us reflect on what it declares in 2 Corinthians 1:18-22, ¹⁸As surely as God is faithful, our message to you is not “Yes” and “No.” ¹⁹ For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by us—by me and Silas and Timothy—was not “Yes” and “No,” but in him it has always been “Yes.” ²⁰ For no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ. And so through him the “Amen” is spoken by us to the glory of God. ²¹ Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, ²² set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.

            Certainly no one else but, only God can fulfill what he promised. We cannot totally trust human beings to fulfill their promises because we are limited. Making promises can be amusing to listeners. We may welcome it also, but for believers who trust the word of God, we don’t totally hope in promises made by humans.

1.  Promise of Human

⁷ Hopes placed in mortals die with them; all the promise of their power comes to nothing.

            The term “mortal” is more understood as pertaining to limitation and sinful nature of human being. In contrast to eternal righteousness and faithfulness of God, human power, strength and abilities are also limited like our life on earth. But still we often hear people make promises as if they have control of the future.

Personally, do you readily trust individuals who frequently make promises?

 Could they sense that nobody trust them so that they promise to convince you?

“Gangsterism”

 Somewhere else, a scandal of corruption had tainted the image of the law enforcement department. A crime investigator was accused of selling sensitive information about activities of crime investigators to gangsters; he was also accused of colluding with a suspect that he was supposed to be investigating. The accused law enforcer was considered as expert on gangsters activities. When he was arrested, he was allegedly in the company of a gangster. He was charged with obstruction of justice, breach of trust including gangsterism activities.

            Do you know of gangsters who pretend to be invincible? When they are together, gangsters appear like they totally depend on one another. At surface level, gangsters act as if they can secure each other. In reality, even their leaders cannot be totally secured against their own members. Undercover secret agents pretending to be loyal members of the gang may infiltrate their ranks.

There is recurring problem of infiltration among police force. The above story shed light to a reality of the problem. The church is not exempted also with double-faced personalities. It had exposed in 3 John 1:9-11, ⁹ I wrote to the church, but Diotrephes, who loves to be first, will not welcome us. ¹⁰ So when I come, I will call attention to what he is doing, spreading malicious nonsense about us. Not satisfied with that, he even refuses to welcome other believers. He also stops those who want to do so and puts them out of the church.

¹¹ Dear friend, do not imitate what is evil but what is good. Anyone who does what is good is from God. Anyone who does what is evil has not seen God.

Historically in the first century Christianity until now, the church had been easily confused and elected leaders who pretend to be polite and kind individuals.

Nevertheless, let us keep praying that God continue to raise ministry leaders who faithfully serve the Lord and not otherwise. We also pray that those who are not chosen by God as leaders will find the right ministry that God has prepared for them. Certainly, God promised appropriate rewards to his faithful servants.

2.  Promise of God

⁸ The righteous person is rescued from trouble, and it falls on the wicked instead.

            Christ came on Christmas Day and offers perfect paradise without trouble. He promised to take into heaven all who believes in him and his sacrificial death on the cross. But who can rescue the righteous person from trouble in this world?

            What can you advise when potential believers ask why we’re not exempted from troubles or difficulties? The Lord promised a way out for us to endure trials that may come our way. Anytime, anywhere in this world, there can be trouble.

Together, let us serious reflect on what it says in 1 Corinthians 10:12-13:

¹² So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall! ¹³ No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.

Whatever we do, we perform with all your heart, as if we are working for the Lord, not for human masters, why? By faith, we view that it is Christ our Lord we are serving, and we hope to receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward.

Yet even, if we do what we think is right, others may still think otherwise.

“Heroic Act”

            Very early in the morning, a masked man brandished a knife and attempted to rob a store. The cashier at the store quickly took his gun and pointed it at masked man. The masked man left without taking anything. The store worker secretly brought his gun to work, even though he knew that his employer forbids carrying weapons in the workplace. He was fired as a result of his heroic act.

            If a company prohibits employees to carry weapons in the workplace, is it right for employees to disobey? The cashier may think that carrying his gun was meant for his self-defence or to protect the company’s asset, but is it proper?

            It takes godly wisdom to decide on the right things that glorifies God. Let us meditate earnestly on Psalm 25:3, “³No one whose hope is in you will ever be put to shame, but they will be put to shame who are treacherous without excuse.”

Sometimes we have to make decisions that are not fair in the eyes of others but when we accomplish things to glorify God, the Lord could use even decisions not acceptable to others and bless faithful believers. What do you think?

            We may not be always mindful, and sometimes impulsive decisions we make could cause us to be in trouble. But when we are reminded, it is always favorable to us to seek godly wisdom so that in all our decisions, we bring glory to God. Amen!

Here’s New Year’s Resolution for us: To grow in faith, wisdom and prayer life.

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