By Scott Keith
In 2014 I have resolved never to make a New Year’s Resolution again. This is not to say that I ever have made one –– in fact I have not since I was about 6 or 7 –– but rather, I have decided to treat this day like any other day. Allow me to explain. In doing some research, I have discovered that New Year’s resolutions seem to simply be about living one’s vocation more fully. As an example, look at the top ten list below as provided by Inc. Magazine. Sickly enough, in our over commercialized world, Inc. suggested a gift card that could be purchased to correspond with each resolution. So here we go; the top 10, 2014 New Year’s Resolutions for Americans:
1. Goal – To Get In Shape
2. Goal – To Dress for Success
3. Goal – To Eat Healthier
4. Goal – To Travel
5. Goal – To Spend More Time With Family
6. Goal – To Learn Something New
7. Goal – To Save Money
8. Goal – To Complete a DIY Project
9. Goal – To De-Stress
10. Goal – To Hit the Outdoors
In other words: live out your vocation as creation of the Father, live your craft and calling in the Left Hand Kingdom; take care of your body, spend your recreational time well, take care of your home, try to relax and rejuvenate when possible remembering that God created the Sabbath for man not man for the Sabbath, and enjoy God’s rich creation. This is not resolution material, but rather the basic principles of fulfilling one’s vocation, or vocations, as God has prepared them for us to walk in.
This is not to say that I think that there is no part of me which needs changing. As a point of fact, I am trying every day to be less and less cantankerous (the jury is still out on my success with this one). Nor do I mean to imply that living one’s vocation is easy. Rather, my intent is to remind myself, and you, that life is not easy in this sinful world and that day in and day out God has called us to be who we are as those who have been set free by He who became the curse for us. He resolved to be born under the Law so that we might be free from the Law, even the self-imposed Law of New Year’s Resolutions. Be the best you can be everyday within the realm of your various callings and vocations. But be those things freely! If we are to resolve to do something, let us do so with the Apostle Paul: “For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified” (1 Corinthians 2:2). Happy New Year!
