Last time we talked about New Year Resolutions really were about what you love.  So my list looked really stupid… “#1.  Eat bacon every day.  #2.  Learn new recipes for bacon, #3. Thank God daily for bacon.” Resolutions really are about us changing what we love. Here’s a good verse that takes that and uses an analogy of two masters:

MT 6:24 “No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other.

That’s cause we can’t magically split ourselves into two people and have one listen to the first master and the second self listen to the second master. That would really come in handy for dudes since half the girls out there are always asking them to buy useless stuff like birthday presents and $15 dollar salads – but then at the same time, these girls ask them to spend more time with them. 

And last I checked, you can’t make the money to buy all that stuff by spending time with girls.  I know this guy who tried that.  The only thing he got was an ulcer.

We have finite bodies, with finite amounts of time and resources. If you choose to make a meal, you inherently have chosen not to do other things like exercise, do devotions or build a giant robot. But that’s not to say your priority isn’t God. God wants you to eat, to exercise, to work, to do family stuff to get proper rest.

So we can’t confuse ‘priority’ with ‘motive’. What is our primary motive concerning all the tasks (commands) we’ve been called to do?  And if we have the proper motive, which is service to God, then we need wisdom in managing and prioritizing tasks. Two different people can go to work, exercise and support their families – but it’s only spiritually pleasing to God if it’s in service to Him and not in service to self or some other thing.

So what do we do?

Service to God includes things like your family, job, community, the Kingdom of God, the needy. And needed to do those things are spiritual traits like self-control, and physical traits like health, and other traits like financial responsibility.

So… 1. “If God were to write down your New Year’s Resolutions for you, what would be on that list?”

2. Ask yourself, ” If God got a hold of my calendar and came up with a schedule for me, what would it look like?” Hopefully, that will give you an idea of starting your list of resolutions and a way to manage them, all with the proper motive – which is serving God.

MT 6:24 “No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money. MT 6:25 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? [26] Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? [27] Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? MT 6:28 “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. [29] Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. [30] If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? [31] So do not worry, saying, `What shall we eat?’ or `What shall we drink?’ or `What shall we wear?’ [32] For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. [33] But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well

Take time to pray: Ask God for wisdom to know what His calendar for you looks like and the love for Him to carry it out. Today’s Fruit of the Spirit: Love.  A love of God so as to value what He values.