The Fayette Tribune, Oak Hill, W.Va.

Local News

January 3, 2013

A new year, a new you

Pastor's Corner

By Mark Wood

ELKINS — “For bodily exercise profits little: but godliness is profitable to all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come.”

— 1 Timothy 4:8

The New Year is upon us, and with Jan. 1, New Year’s Resolutions. I love to hear what people’s New Years resolutions are, and of course you have the classics: to eat healthier, to succeed at my diet, to exercise more, and my all-time favorite: to avoid chocolate.

Yes, New Year’s Day is a time for us to start over, to start fresh, to begin a new year with a new attitude, to do the things we said we would last year, to fix our faults, to become a better person.

Unfortunately, the New Year’s resolution that I don’t hear as much is “focus on God more,” or “get closer to my Creator” or “study more of the Bible.” It seems like everyone is focusing on improving themselves in different areas, and yet this one vital area tends to get left off the “New Year’s Improvement List.”

The other thing I have noticed about New Year’s resolutions is that most people fail. A friend of mine boasted about how she was going to pass on chocolate for the New Year, only to eat a Hershey’s bar the very next day.

We set these goals, but we fail to meet them. We make these promises to ourselves, but for some reason we fall to the temptation of the very habit we are trying to avoid.

New Year’s resolutions are like fancy cars; they look shiny, they make a lot of noise and impress people, but after all the hype, they end up running out of gas. Just like a fancy cars, without the proper maintenance these resolutions end up being worthless.

This year what are your resolutions? What are the most important areas of your life, and the areas that you need to work on? Yes the physical is important, but don’t forget the spiritual. It’s the difference between working for the temporary and the eternal.

Once you decide what you need to improve, are you willing to keep the tank full of gas, and maintain your resolutions in order to reach your goals?

You can do it when you commit it unto God.

(Wood is pastor of Calvary Baptist Church of Oak Hill, and a member of the Fayette Plateau Ministerial Association.)

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