Happy New Year

Selah » Holidays and Holy Days

You may say to yourself, "My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me." But remember the Lord your God, for it is He who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms His covenant, which He swore to your forefathers, as it is today. (Deut. 8:18)

New Years Resolutions

I'm not real big on New Years resolutions. I find most people break them almost immediately. The two most popular resolutions are also the two most frequently broken, often before the sun goes down on day one. Stop smoking and lose weight. One problem is that they both create a void and the mind can't focus on the absence of something, only the benefits that the absence brings. Much better to say, "Today I'm going to begin enjoying the benefits of being a non-smoker" and then list them or, "I'm going to adjust my weight to 185 lbs." Then the mind can visualize the positive result of the resolution and begin to "see" achievement. Paul encouraged us to "fix our eyes on what is unseen, not what is seen" (2 Cor. 4:18) and invented the concept of visualization often used by the self-help folks today. (read Wisdom of the Ages Pt. 2) Another problem is that there's nothing magical about the first day of the year, especially in the absence of a fierce determination to achieve the resolution being set.

That said, this year I'm setting one resolution, and since it's a negative one, requiring me to eliminate something I'm including a positive replacement to help make it more likely to work. I'm finally going to eliminate the words "luck" and "lucky" from my vocabulary, because I'm convinced there's really no such thing. Earl Nightingale once reminded me, "Luck is simply the predictable intersection of preparation and opportunity." I see his point. For the one who's unprepared an opportunity could as easily bring about disaster as benefit.

Another man, whose name I don't remember said, "I've been lucky all my life, and have found that the harder I work the luckier I get." Also good advice, but both these statements imply that a strong dose of self-determination is all it takes to create good luck. Lots of people prepare themselves for life and work hard but will never be called lucky. This calls to mind a third quote. "You're only guaranteed two things for working hard all your life. You'll get old and you'll get tired. Everything else depends more on how you work than how much you work."

Blessed Are The Believers

And that brings me to the word with which I'm going to replace luck in my vocabulary: blessed. That's right. It's about time I attributed all the good things that happen in my life to their true Source. God is the Author of all our victories, and the Giver of every good and perfect gift, and in the verse I've quoted above He reminds us of that. In fact all of Deut. 8 is a warning against forgetting Him and taking the credit our success ourselves. It's must reading. We also read of the consequences suffered by Nebuchadnezzar on the occasion of his bragging about the majesty of Babylon (Daniel 4) and how he was restored after acknowledging the role God had played in his career. We could learn a lot from his story too (maybe that's why it's in the Bible).

"But what about things that just happen by chance," you say? The Rabbis respond, "Coincidence is not a kosher word," implying that in Jewish theology, chance is not considered as a relevant factor. And that's another issue. Attributing blessings to good luck denies God's involvement in our lives, just as surely as adhering to the theory of evolution denies God's involvement in the creation. In both instances chance is the rival conjecture, the substitute for God, and that's called blasphemy.

Now What Do I Do?

If you've got your heart set on trying to become a better person this year, go right ahead. Lord knows the world could use a few more good people, and it won't hurt at all to become one of them. Just remember you can never become good enough to please God. If you really do want to please Him, decide you're going to become more aware of the blessings He brings you every day, and more diligent in thanking Him. He really goes for that. Stop calling yourself lucky and start calling yourself blessed. Once you become aware of them, you'll be amazed at how many blessings you're already receiving. By the way, if you want to receive even greater blessing, read and apply my article on tithing (read Want to vs. have to). You've heard that it's more blessed to give than receive but I'm here to tell you that it's most blessed to give AND receive. Or to quote again from Paul; "You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion." (2 Cor 9:11) And now may you and yours enjoy a most Blessed New Year.