question about New Years resolutions

[ayin jade]

We were talking about what resolutions anyone made and a thought occurred to me.

Matthew 5

33 Again, you have heard that it has been said to the ancients, "You shall not swear falsely, but you shall perform your oaths to the Lord."

34 But I say to you, Do not swear at all! Not by Heaven, because it is God's throne;

35 not by the earth, for it is the footstool of His feet; not by Jerusalem, because it is the city of the great King;

36 nor shall you swear by your head, because you cannot make one hair white or black.

37 But let your word be, Yes, yes; No, no. For whatever is more than these comes from evil.

Given this passage, when folks make resolutions, does that violate what Jesus told us in the sermon on the mount?

[greenlee]

That depends...

Are the resolutions goals or oaths? There is a difference.

Do the resolutions violate Scripture or God's plan for your life?

Are the resolutions such that they involve promises you can't and/or don't intend to keep?

[Hunterpoet]

I don't believe making a new years resolution would violate what the Lord was teaching, unless you decided to swear an oath on something to do so.

I think most folks use New years, or at least try, as a starting point to incorporate something good into their lives. Losing weight, stop smoking, quit drinking, etc. etc.

[OneLight]

This is a personal issue. I for one don't want to set myself up for failure. I wonder how many of these resolutions are successful? Some are, I'm sure, but I wounder how many??

[Rhonda Lou]

We were talking about what resolutions anyone made and a thought occurred to me.

Matthew 5

33 Again, you have heard that it has been said to the ancients, "You shall not swear falsely, but you shall perform your oaths to the Lord."

34 But I say to you, Do not swear at all! Not by Heaven, because it is God's throne;

35 not by the earth, for it is the footstool of His feet; not by Jerusalem, because it is the city of the great King;

36 nor shall you swear by your head, because you cannot make one hair white or black.

37 But let your word be, Yes, yes; No, no. For whatever is more than these comes from evil.

Given this passage, when folks make resolutions, does that violate what Jesus told us in the sermon on the mount?

I believe the Sermon on the Mount deals more with motivation -- what is inside the heart -- than it deals with anything else. For instance, we are told that when we are angry without a cause, and go so far as to cal somebody a fool or "Raca", we have committed murder in hour hearts. When a person looks at another lustfully, then the person has committed adultery -- their hearts are not pure. This follows practically on the heels of those things. I believe what is in view here are those emotional, rash oaths we make in the heat of the moment. When the emotion leaves, so does the oath. When we swear to tell the truth on a Bible in a court of law, it is not done in the heat of the moment. When we are in a heated conversation, or are passionate in favor of something, and we say, "I swear!" Like, "I sswear I'll never do that gain!!" -- that is in view here. Promises or oaths made in the heat of the moment are rarely kept -- and are not even truly meant to be in our heart of hearts. I think the principle here is that we are to be honorable people who keep our words. If somebody asks us to do something and we say "yes" -- then just do it. Don't go on and swear to do it so that others see your oath, or so that you make a big issue of it by the oath -- just go out and do it. Others see the truth of your words by your actions, without you calling attention to it. Does that make any sense?

As for New Years resolutions, I agree with those who say they are goals, not promises. To be honest, very few people actually KEEP New Years resolutions -- but they are good because for awhile, people focus on them and do better. It's a time to start new. But I've not heard many say, "I SWEAR that I'm going to do this from not on", when it comes to New Years resolutions.

[arrowfromgod]

jesus points out somthing in my life i should address ,,, i says to my lord you are right and help me get over this stumbling block ,,, and my lord says i am with you beloved ,,, i fail miserably but jesus thru time helps me stop drinking completly,,, i make a new years resolution to be kinder to my family ,,, why would i even think i should be kinder to my family(jesus pointed this out to me maybe ??? ) but still i pray for jesus's help ,,, and he does help me ,,, you have a point jade,,, i mean technicaly im not swearing to my lord that this will never happen again (me losing my temper) but i am a sorta promise that i wont ... i dont see it as a oath but more as a want (can i have this pls jesus )and the day (new years day) is my reminder and a starting point for when i asked it

[cjrose]

We were talking about what resolutions anyone made and a thought occurred to me.

Matthew 5

33 Again, you have heard that it has been said to the ancients, "You shall not swear falsely, but you shall perform your oaths to the Lord."

34 But I say to you, Do not swear at all! Not by Heaven, because it is God's throne;

35 not by the earth, for it is the footstool of His feet; not by Jerusalem, because it is the city of the great King;

36 nor shall you swear by your head, because you cannot make one hair white or black.

37 But let your word be, Yes, yes; No, no. For whatever is more than these comes from evil.

Given this passage, when folks make resolutions, does that violate what Jesus told us in the sermon on the mount?

I can appreciate your thinking about and posting about our resolutions. I say for myself in setting goals is that nothing will or will not happen if it is the Lord's will. I think that individuals have good intentions when setting goals... actually I don't make resolutions, I set goals and finally feel it's time I achieve a few with prayer and thanksgiving at having the opportunity to be able to have goals and the paths to make them happen.

(does this make sense? I am exercising brain finally )

[sheya joie]

Would this passage from James shed light on it?

James 4:13 Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain:

14 Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.

15 For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that.