A pastor/friend asked me what my resolutions were for the New Year. Making resolutions is not something I typically do, but it triggered a thoughtful conversation and had me thinking. What, exactly, do I really care most about for the new year?
I landed on three priorities: Truth, Generosity, Love.
We live in an era some have defined as post-truth. That’s debatable, but it does seem that the loudest voices and biggest platforms drive narratives to fit a particular angle on reality. We only shoot the messenger if the message comes from the wrong cable television station — truth be damned. There’s nothing new in this, but it has reached new lows. Which means we all need to make truth an especially important resolution this year. So that’s my first priority: be more truthful.
We also live in a remarkably ungenerous era. I’ve long held that the best generosity is when we give out of our own poverty. Giving a million dollars isn’t meaningful if your net worth is a billion dollars. In the same way, giving your time isn’t as meaningful if you have a lot of time to give. Sadly, we’re not only giving less out of our poverty, we’re giving less out of our abundance. I want to change this, at least in my own life, and give more of both.
My last resolution is the most important one. We live in a culture that has lost it’s willingness to love others. We demonize and ridicule them, and we think it’s clever or funny or even necessary. This should never happen among those who follow Jesus. As Katharine Hayhoe said in a recent NYTimes interview, “. . . Jesus says to his disciples, “You should be recognized as my disciples by your love for others,” and today when you look at people who self-identify as Christians in the United States, love for others is not one of the top characteristics you see.” We have to relearn how to love each other. It’s a decision, not a feeling. It’s a commitment, not a whimsy. This year I choose loving others over all else.
So those are my three resolutions for the New Year. Truth. Generosity. Love.
Wouldn’t hurt to lose a few pounds too.
Photo by freestocks.org from Pexels