Resolutions

"He 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).

Have you made your resolutions or set some goals for 2017? How many did you make? How many have you broken already? The story that runs every year on the news was on yesterday: gym memberships are up as vast numbers of people resolve or promise to "lose weight" or "get in better shape" for the new year. Gyms are crowded during the month of January; it's hard to find a seat at the snack bar! The newscaster's advice (as always)? If you're a regular gym user, wait until February, when they will again be emptier and resolutions will go unmet.

This morning, in my inbox, I got a list of resolutions anyone could keep. Here are just a few of them...

~ Gain weight. At least 30 pounds.
~ Stop exercising. Waste of time.
~ Procrastinate more. Starting tomorrow.
~ Don't have eight children at once.
~ Don't bring back disco.
~ Never make New Year's resolutions again.

Those are some goals I could definitely accomplish!

But, seriously, I choose this year to stick with the goals God himself has given us. To a people who were trying to figure out who they were, who they were becoming, the Old Testament prophet Micah had three words of advice, three things God had already shown them they should become.

People who act justly...not doing just what is legal but doing what is right, what allows each person to become children of God. Justice is not about laws; justice is about doing what God wants us to do, even when it's hard. It means, as Isaiah defined it, to "defend the oppressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless; plead the case of the widow" (Isaiah 1:17).

A lover of mercy. Mercy isn't just "being nice." Mercy isn't letting someone out of the consequences of their sin. Mercy is a matter of having compassion for those in pain. Not just feeling sorry, but allowing ourselves to feel as if we were in their place. Sitting with them in the ashes. Hebrews puts it this way: "Continue to remember those in prison as if you were together with them in prison, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering" (13:3).

One who walks humbly with your God. Those who do so are not afraid to associate with those who are lowly. They are available and willing to reach out to "the least of these." In fact, it's the humble who do so without looking for any sort of reward. They are the ones who are surprised on the last day that they were doing anything noteworthy (see Matthew 25:44-45). Walking with God may be something we think of as "something we already do," but Micah doesn't make it that simple. We may "walk with God," but do we walk humbly with God? Do the other two things, justice and mercy, naturally flow out of us? Or are we walking simply for the benefits a relationship with God gives to us and us alone?

These are some serious resolutions and will have much more long-lasting effects than losing weight or cutting back on television. These are resolutions for life now, and life eternal. Do justice, love mercy, walk humbly with God.

So I'll ask again: have you made any resolutions for 2017 yet?