Let God inspire goals for new year

“So this is Christmas,

And what have you done?

Another year over,

And a new one just begun …”

The words from John Lennon’s song echo the internal conversation we all have with ourselves about the passage of time and our role in the world. Such conversation can become vexing at times, especially on anniversaries, birthdays – and at the arrival of the New Year.

Hopes for the New Year’s resolution process are often the result. This time around we will do a better job of it, whatever “it” is. Losing weight is a big one these days, along with plans to earn more money, watch less TV, and spend more quality time with family. A few people even consider building a closer relationship with God. Others assume (if they think about it at all) that God will love them more if they just get those top items accomplished, such as, “if my wife appreciates me for losing weight, surely God will, as well.”

In this day and culture, the line between “goals not met” and “sinfulness” has become very blurred indeed. And that’s understandable, considering the original meaning of the word “sin” is to “fall short.” When I think of my own sinfulness, I see the bull’s-eye, feel my pull on the bowstring, and then watch as my arrow misses the mark, or worse, plows into the earth, far short of the target. Sadly, missing the mark seems to be part of the human condition.

The big problem is not as much that we sometimes fail to hit our targets, as it is our choice of targets. We want to succeed at what we do, of course, but then we should choose wisely what our target is to be.

When I was a kid, my dad told me: “It doesn’t matter what you do – just be the best at it.” For many years that advice made sense to me, until I took God’s values into account. Should we aspire to be the world’s best Mafia boss, the world’s best con artist, the world’s best drug pusher? God says no.

Or to make the targets a little less illegal: Should we aspire to captain the world’s richest pharmaceutical company, create the world’s most effective soft drink or cigarette advertising, or build the world’s most efficient machine gun? Again, God says no.

Or to make the targets a little less deadly: Should we aspire to get rich playing the stock market, outsmarting the odds at the casinos, or devising some other scheme for “beating the system” at others’ expense?

There’s nothing overtly illegal or murderous in these enterprises, but if we listen carefully, God may still be saying no.

On Christmas morning, National Public Radio aired an interview with Kevin Kelly, the founder of Wired Magazine. Kelly said that despite all the bad news that surrounds us, there is slightly more good than evil in the world. Kelly went on to claim that margin of goodness – even if it’s only one-tenth of 1 percent – gives us reason to hope, because that margin, over time, acts like compound interest to make the world a better place.

I agree with Kelly’s assessment, and would even go on to theorize that the reason no one knows the date of the End Times is that it is a moving target, postponed by good deeds and good shooting at the targets God has set for us. That we should still be here, 2,000 years after Paul anticipated Jesus’ quick return, is truly a source for wonder. After all, God has given us free will to shoot where we will, while Satan, whom the Bible calls the ruler of this world, tempts us actively and endlessly to let selfishness determine our targets.

To make a long story short, I believe the fate of the world depends on the nature of the collective decisions we make in our private lives. That means the targets, the goals we set for ourselves, should certainly include God’s will in the equation. But short of joining a monastery, how do we go about incorporating God’s will into our own?

Well, let’s take the most popular New Year’s resolution, losing weight, as an example. Let’s say, along with reducing your caloric intake by 200 calories a day, you donate the tenth less you spend on groceries to a charity like CARE, which will use your weight loss savings to feed the starving children in the world.

If exercise is your goal, save the money you’d spend going to a health club, and put your energy into building homes for the homeless through Habitat for Humanity, or collecting and lugging boxes of food for your local food pantry, or walking a neighborhood roadside, picking up trash. Turn that flab to muscle while benefiting the world.

If your goal is to make more money, pledge a tenth of your anticipated earnings to some charitable cause that helps others succeed, such as the micro-loan charities that provide enough for a Third World person to buy a sewing machine or start a business.

And if your goal is to spend more time with your children, make part of that time a Bible study, or church-supported spiritual retreat, designed to teach them something about their soul’s immortality and the accessibility of God’s love.

I could go on, but I’m sure you get the idea. Simply align your targets with God’s, and your odds of succeeding will increase enormously. By doing God’s will, you incorporate God’s righteous energy into your plans; your goals will be blessed, as God’s targets and your own become one.

Best wishes for a happy and goal-oriented new year!

Lee Witting is a chaplain at Eastern Maine Medical Center and pastor of the Union Street Brick Church in Bangor. He may be reached at leewitting@midmaine.com. Voices is a weekly commentary by Maine people who explore issues affecting spirituality and religious life.