The Wise Man's Resolutions

My son, do not forget my law, but let your heart keep my commandments; for length of days and long life and peace they will add to you. Let not mercy and truth forsake you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart, and so find favor and high esteem in the sight of God and man. Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths. (Proverbs 3:1–6)

Solomon's ten resolutions for the wise: the path to a long and satisfying life lies in keeping the commandments of God.

A Wiser Kind of Resolution

For some, the move from one year to the next is no big deal—just another date changing from 2016 to 2017. But research tells us that nearly two-thirds of Americans count this an important transition. Over 60%—about 62%—take time at the end of each year to resolve to make changes, to do something different.

The top resolutions are familiar almost every year: get healthy, lose weight, enjoy life to the fullest, spend less and save more, spend more time with family, get organized, learn something new, travel more, read more. One man, days before the new year, kept sucking in his stomach on the scale. His wife shook her head and said, "You realize that's not going to help." He replied, "Sure it will—I can't see the numbers if I don't do that."

Here's the sobering statistic: while 62% of Americans make resolutions, only 8% make good on them. The odds are not in our favor. My hope is that those of us seeking real change in the new year would be among that 8%.

The Wisdom of Solomon

As I thought about resolving to make a change, I came to the wisdom of Solomon in Proverbs chapter 3, and here I believe we find ten resolutions of the wise man. Solomon is considered by some the wisest man who ever lived—a king in Israel some 3,000 years ago who wrote Ecclesiastes, these Proverbs, the Song of Solomon, and a number of the Psalms.

There are 31 chapters in Proverbs and typically 31 days in a month, so you could read through this wisdom literature twelve times in a year if you committed yourself to it. Probably one of the greatest things you could do to change your life in 2017 is to spend time reading God's Word. To help with that, The Listening Plan (thelisteningplan.com) sends a daily weekday email walking you through the New Testament a chapter a day. God's Word makes us wise, transforms our minds, and sanctifies us.

Notice the promise in verse 1. The New Living Translation says, "If you do this, you will live many years, and your life will be satisfying." Everyone wants a long and satisfying life, yet many never find it—as the songwriters told us, "I can't get no satisfaction." Solomon says: take heed to these commands and the result will be a satisfying life.

Resolution One: Be Merciful and Faithful

Let not mercy and truth forsake you... and so find favor and high esteem in the sight of God and man. (Proverbs 3:3–4)

We live in a culture, especially among the generation raised on smartphones and social media, where esteem and value are based almost entirely on what others think. Their happiness rises and falls with how many people like or comment on what they post. But ultimately that brings no greater value. The greatest value comes from God.

The word translated "mercy" is the Hebrew chesed, the steadfast love of God—one of the attributes core to who He is. When God introduces Himself to Moses in Exodus 34:6, the very first thing He says is, "The Lord, the Lord God, merciful." Jesus taught, "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy."

Every one of us wants mercy for ourselves, yet we tend to want justice for others. When someone runs a red light in front of us, we wish a police officer were there. But when we catch a glimpse of black-and-white in the rearview mirror, our hearts skip a beat and we pray, "Oh, Lord, please." We want mercy for us—so be merciful and faithful to others.

Resolution Two: Trust God Completely

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding." This is one of the most memorized verses in the Bible—and one of the hardest to apply. It's easier to memorize than to live out. When I face a problem, I'm highly analytical; I want to deconstruct it from 900 angles and fix it. But many obstacles are simply not fixable in my own strength.

Commit your cares to the Lord, for He cares for you. We will all face anxiety-producing things this year. But Jesus asked who by worrying can add one cubit to his stature—or one day to his life? The Scriptures say, "Do not fret, it only causes harm." Worry is simply meditating on your problems, going over them again and again.

We believe in a living God, intimately involved in our lives. He knows the very number of hairs on your head—for some of you, you've made that easy. If He knows that, He knows what you're facing and has the power to direct your steps. Isaiah wrote, "You will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You." That phrase, shalom shalom, is peace multiplied. "Trust in the Lord forever, for in Him is everlasting strength."

Resolution Three: Be Humble

Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and depart from evil. (Proverbs 3:7)

Our culture says be assertive, stand your ground, have strong pride. But in the eternal kingdom, Solomon says don't be wise in your own eyes—be humble. Jesus taught in Luke 14 that when invited to a meal, take the lowest place, so the host says, "Friend, go up higher." "Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted."

Follow the pattern of Jesus. Philippians 2 says, "Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God... made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a servant." He humbled Himself, and therefore God highly exalted Him and gave Him the name above every name. God's economy is different from ours. So resolve in 2017 to be humble.

Resolution Four: Be Giving

Honor the Lord with your possessions, and with the firstfruits of all your increase; so your barns will be filled with plenty. (Proverbs 3:9–10)

This is hard, because our hearts are connected to our treasure—"where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." Give your firstfruits to the Lord, and He will take care of what you need. Jesus said don't worry about what you'll wear or eat; your Father knows your needs. Seek His kingdom, and these things will be added.

I'm not preaching a prosperity gospel that says God exists to give you everything you want. But Jesus said in Luke 6:38, "Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over." God gives to an open hand. For all my adult life, my wife and I have given at least 10% of everything that comes in to the Lord, and every time things seemed tight, God—sometimes miraculously—took care of what we needed.

Resolution Five: Be Teachable

My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord, nor detest His correction; for whom the Lord loves He corrects. (Proverbs 3:11–12)

God is a Father who disciplines His children. There are two ways to respond. You can harden your heart and rebel against the discipline, and it will produce no fruit. Or you can turn into that discipline, recognizing that whom the Lord loves, He chastens—His correction reveals you are His child. Hebrews 12 quotes this verse and says correction yields "the peaceable fruit of righteousness."

Discipline is connected to discipleship. God wants to grow us into maturity, not leave us as infantile two-year-old Christians—and there are many of those in the church. We need to grow, and often that means turning into the chastening of the Lord and saying, "God, disciple me, raise me up."

Resolution Six: Be a Seeker of Wisdom

Happy is the man who finds wisdom... For her proceeds are better than the profits of silver... She is more precious than rubies, and all the things you may desire cannot compare with her. (Proverbs 3:13–24)

More than any other book in the Bible, Proverbs speaks of wisdom—the word appears almost 50 times. Solomon personifies wisdom as "her," something to be pursued. Most people we meet are seeking riches, but wisdom is better than silver and fine gold. Everything our hearts desire pales in comparison.

Our hearts are little desire factories—"I want, I want, I want." When you're a child it comes right out of you; as adults we just mask it better. But in wisdom's right hand is length of days, and in her left, riches and honor. "Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace. She is a tree of life." Keep sound wisdom and discretion, and "when you lie down... your sleep will be sweet." To seek wisdom is to seek God, for He is its source. Read a Proverb a day—chapter one on January 1st—and see if it doesn't change how you see the world.

Resolution Seven: Be Confident in the Lord

Do not be afraid of sudden terror, nor of trouble from the wicked when it comes; for the Lord will be your confidence. (Proverbs 3:25–26)

Sudden terror is exactly what the West has feared since 9/11. Just last night, as people prepared to celebrate New Year's Eve, there were worries about attacks—and one did occur in Istanbul. Notice Solomon says trouble will come; but when it comes, don't be afraid, for the Lord will be your confidence.

The psalmist wrote, "Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we will trust in the name of the Lord." Today people trust in nuclear weapons, in their government, their 401k, their intelligence, their career, their looks. Every one of those things will leave you when hard times come. But the Lord is our strength, our ever-present help, our fortress, rock, and refuge. The only way to be truly confident in Him is to spend time getting to know Him as He has revealed Himself in the Scriptures.

Resolutions Eight, Nine, and Ten: Be Generous, Be a Good Neighbor, Be Just

"Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in the power of your hand to do so." Resolution eight: be generous and good. Don't hold back when you have the ability to give.

"Do not devise evil against your neighbor, for he dwells by you for safety's sake." Resolution nine: be a good neighbor. When a lawyer asked Jesus, "Who is my neighbor?"—seeking a loophole—Jesus told the parable of the Good Samaritan. The neighbor was the one who showed mercy and kindness.

Do not envy the oppressor... He blesses the home of the just... The wise shall inherit glory, but shame shall be the legacy of fools. (Proverbs 3:31–35)

Resolution ten: be just—or righteous. Micah said, "He has shown you, O man, what is good... but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God." Often we want to swap that to "love justice," but God says do what's right, be merciful, and walk in humility.

A Satisfying Year

Getting fit, getting on a budget, spending more time with family, reading more—all of these can have value. But Solomon said, "My son, do not forget my law... If you do this, you will live many years, and your life will be satisfying." These wise man's resolutions are at least one step in that direction.

So may God help us this year to be merciful and faithful, to trust God completely even when our minds and hearts are tried, to be humble, giving, teachable, seekers of wisdom, confident in the Lord, generous and good, good neighbors, and just.

Communion

As we begin the new year, we partake of communion—the bread symbolizing the body of Jesus broken for us, and the cup symbolizing His blood shed for us. In just a couple of months we'll study Hebrews and see that the old sacrificial system was never enough to deal with sin. But Jesus established a new covenant, and His death on the cross is enough to deal with all sin of all people at all times. When we partake, we remember that He has paid it all. It is finished.

The Lord Jesus, the same night in which He was betrayed, took bread, and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, "This is My body, which is broken for you. Do this in remembrance of Me." In the same manner He took the cup, saying, "This is the cup of the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me." As often as we eat this bread and drink this cup, we proclaim His death until He comes—knowing He is not still dead, but alive, risen and seated at the right hand of glory.

Closing Prayer

Father, help us to apply the things we see in Your Word, not just here in Proverbs 3 but everywhere, that we would make these things part of our lives every day, and that You by Your Word would transform, sanctify, and cleanse us, making us more like You, Jesus. Pour out Your Spirit upon Your church and produce in our lives love, joy, peace, kindness, gentleness, self-control, and patience, as a witness of Your grace.

As we dedicate this new year to You, help us remember that we have received forgiveness because Your body was broken and Your blood was shed for us. We know that the fact You have not yet returned means there is still work for us to do in 2017. By Your grace You have gifted and called each of us, unworthy as we are, and we are Your workmanship, created for good works.

It is certain that Your people will go through difficult, anxiety-producing things this year—highs and lows, joys and sorrows. In every one of them, reign over our lives, that we would see Your hand even in trial. We are not sufficient of ourselves, but You have given us the strength we need. Build up Your church here at Cross Connection this year, and use us as lights in a dark world, that people would see our good works and glorify You, our Father in heaven. We pray all this in Jesus' name. Amen.