Most of us swill stay up late to celebrate the great occasion of moving forward into 2026! And almost all of us will break or downgrade those New Year’s Resolutions during the first 30 days!

Let’s face it, it is hard to change old habits, old ways die hard! We have the very best of intensions, and most of all, most of us are not satisfied with either our habits, direction, appearance, attitudes, acceptance, success, and most likely, our value system towards our friends, family, spouses, children, fellow workers and those in need. Let’s look into our favorite mirror and realize that most of us have the desire to do better! To many of us, our biggest resolve is to try and solve the nagging feeling within us that our lives are missing something! You know, those things we think about at 2AM in the dark, driving down the road, even sitting in a pew at church?

Whether we live in a secular world or our lives are driven by Faith Values, we think about and want to find out what we can do to enrich our lives beyond where we are, regardless of our age, economics, gender, race, vocation. education, personality, and beliefs. So, the question is, what can we do to really master self-improvement and resolve to make the next 12 months this year, and every year fill the void we often think about and search for?

Almost everyone can ‘love’ people in the abstract, but when it comes time to express that love by lending a helping hand, a kind word, helping those who are down to get up and stand on their own, or in many cases, just write a check or provide the necessary assistance! One can quickly determine the sincerely of the person’s love for others by our thoughts and actions. That was the Apostle Paul’s point in 2 Corinthians 8:8-9.

We read in our newspapers often about our homeless, for instance, and those people who are less fortunate than ourselves, and their needs. We often see articles about providing a Holiday meal, having a

clothing drive or have a ‘Homeless Day’, where we can serve food, provide certain materials, give a free haircut and other services available. While these events are very important, we still miss the mark of trying to solve the problem by putting a band aid on a much deeper issue. We feel good after we go home, but we know we could do more, yet we many times don’t try!

There are many programs established in our areas by governmental and non-profit agencies and organizations to assist, but due to financial restraints and people’s service, there isn’t enough to go around. As God’s children, we have a genuine responsibility to the needs of others and to the communities where we live, to do all we can to supply our compassion, talents, connections, financial assistance, and the passion to God’s mission in our lives of helping others. Followers of Christ have the potential to be among our communities most ‘effective agents’ for much needed social services.

Many are already involved, but there are so many more of us that are young, retired, semi-retired, and vocationally active in our communities, that can choose to get involved. There are so many of us that are blessed with the skill sets, the experience, organizational skills, spirit of volunteerism, advocacy and ability to support financially, or with materials for the communities they live in, to reach out more to those in need, the poor, the widows and widowers, the elderly, the afflicted and the children! We can learn a great deal about delivering services to those citizens in need by carefully observing the principles that the Apostle Paul set forth for Timothy and the believers of Ephesus, in the Book of Ephesus, in the Bible,

Take those thoughts of ‘Annual Resolutions’ and reach out to the agencies whose compassionate people and volunteers can show and tell you about how you can make a difference for so many……and in many cases, save a life!

"Christ became poor so that we can be rich”! Rich by putting into perspective the philosophy of responsibly to serving others in our lives, that the more we give, the richer our lives become!

 

It is by His Grace we are saved…by His Word we should live…and by His Will…we should serve others…!