New Year's Resolutions
And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully: And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits? And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. - Luke 12:16-19
Sounds like a good plan, right? Work hard. Save for the future. Build up your retirement, so you can enjoy your later years. Prepare for the winter months or hard times. On the surface, it sounds great, but look at what God had to say about this man's actions.
But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided? So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God. - Luke 12:20-21
Ouch! God literally called this man a fool. Why? For working hard? For preparing for his future? For making plans and setting goals? No. In his new book, Fearless, Max Lucado points out the problem. Look at the passage again, paying special attention to the words in red.
And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully: And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits? And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. - Luke 12:16-19
I, me, my, mine. No wonder God was angry. In all this man's "wise" planning, he left out the most important thing -- God! Notice he didn't ask God what he should do. There's no evidence of him thanking God for how much He had provided. The man seems to have forgotten that everything belongs to the Lord, including his abundant crop. He was so focused on himself and what he wanted that he neglected to ask God for advice.
As we face the new year, we feel obligated to make some resolutions. After all, it's customary. These resolutions often include things like losing weight, getting in shape, learning a new skill, improving an existing skill, etc. These are all admirable goals, however, let us not get so caught up in making plans that we schedule God right out of our lives. Instead, as we make those goals and plans, how about if we ask Him what He wants us to accomplish this year? Let's find out what His goals are for our lives and then make our resolution list to match His. Let's make it our goal to "be rich toward God" this year. . . and every year that follows.