Resolve Something More

It’s the beginning of a new year.

Like many others, perhaps you have settled on one or more new year’s resolutions … exercise more, eat healthier, get organized, get out of debt, hone a skill, learn something new, etc.

These resolutions and many others are all worthwhile and are great goals to strive for.  However, I can’t help but notice, though all of these resolutions are different, they have one thing in common.  They’re all about what we can do for ourselves.

What if we added another resolution to these, a resolution about other people?

This struck me when I was reading a Bible devotional the other day.  It’s a new devotional that I started on January 1^st, one of those “read the Bible in a year” plans (one of my goals this year).  Within the devotional was a prayer that contained the following statement, “Help me this year to fulfill the potential I have to make a difference in other people’s lives.”

The statement really made me pause when I read it.  And I thought how wonderful it would be if we all made that a goal this year.

It’s not a goal to replace our other goals, rather it’s a goal to complement our other goals and perhaps change our focus.

What if in everything we are striving for this year, we look at how these things can benefit not only us and our families, but how they can benefit other people as well?

Our time, our resources, our abilities, our talents; these can all be used to bless others.

And it doesn’t have to be a grand gesture.  Sometimes it’s as simple as a smile, a kind word, a kind act.  Sometimes it’s an ear to listen.  Sometimes it’s a story to share.

Perhaps one of the most overlooked ways that we can bless others is by sharing our struggles with them.  When we share something difficult that we’ve been through and how God sustained us, it can be an encouragement to others.  And sharing things that we’re going through is helpful as well, as others may find comfort in knowing that “they’re not the only ones” and that they’re not alone in their struggles.

Whatever our circumstances, there is always a way that we can bless other people.

I once heard that each of us are the only ones who know all of the people we know.  There may be others who know a lot of the same people we know, but there is no one in our lives who knows or comes in contact with every single other person in our lives.  And God can use us in so many ways to make a difference in the lives of the people we encounter.

So this year as we resolve to do this and that, let’s resolve something more.  Let’s resolve to bless others.

“Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.” 1 Peter 4:10 (NIV)