We need some powerful collective New Year's resolutions – yes, resolutions – to help us change the way things are and the way they might be.
{by Rev. Paul M. Turner, Gentle Spirit Christian Church of Atlanta}
It’s the first day of 2015, and if anything is clear at this point, it’s that we absolutely must change the way we conduct ourselves. In other words, we need some powerful collective resolutions – yes, resolutions – to help us change the way things are and the way they might be.
But groups of people don’t really make New Year’s resolutions, do they? When groups of people resolve to do things, those resolutions have different names – laws, proclamations, constitutions.
So what we’re left with is what we can do on a personal level to impact how we as a society do business – in other words, to paraphrase Mahatma Gandhi, to be the change we wish to see in the world.
In this endeavor the Bible actually has something elegantly simple and clarifying to say on the subject:
"God has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God." Micah 6:8 (NIV)
With that in mind, I was reading Jim Wallis’ 10 Resolutions for 2015 and realized that I could classify each of his 10 proposed resolutions according to the three main areas of focus God calls us to in Micah 6:8:
To act justly:
- Extend who our neighbors are; whom we are also called to love.
- Love hardest those who are the closest.
- Always ask, “What does this mean for the poor and vulnerable?”
- Support and empower women and girls.
- Question every act of war.
To love mercy:
- Build racial bridges.
- Practice presence.
- Embrace hope and joy.
To walk humbly with your God:
- Love God.
- Stand up for the reality of climate change.
To which I will add: Practice forgiveness, real forgiveness. Think and pray about, and then practice, living in a judgment-free zone where your inner voice is a voice of wisdom rather than judgment; a voice of compassion rather than judgment; a voice of real love rather than judgment. Because if there is no forgiveness, there is no life. When you refuse to let go and move on, what exactly are you hanging on to, and what exactly is it worth to you?
So there you have it, the start of a path for 2015 that can actually change the way we think, the way we do business. The challenge to this is: It is not about the waiting for the world to get better. It’s about each of us committing to be better, to do better, starting today – starting right now.
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