‘What’s your New Year’s resolution?’ my daughter asked me, and I realised, to my surprise, that I hadn’t made one. That wouldn’t have been the case a few years back, when I was younger. I never let a year go past without starting a new one resolved to be and do better. Am I getting resigned, even cynical, as the years pass? I hope not, but there’s no denying that, for most of us, the resolutions we make tend swiftly to be dashed on the rocks of daily life. Good intentions are all very well, but, as the following reflection from my book Are You Listening? makes clear, what finally counts is not what we intend to do, nor what we hope to do, but what we actually end up doing.
Introduction
How often have you intended to do something and failed to do it? Probably more times than you care to remember. It’s easy to make a promise, either to ourselves or others, but much harder to honour it. The reasons, of course, are many. Sometimes we just forget or we’re too busy. Sometimes we find we’ve taken on more than we bargained for, carried away in the heat of the moment or swept along on a tide of enthusiasm, only to find, in the cold light of day, that the task we’ve committed ourselves to appears far less attractive. If we’re lucky, our failure to do what we intended may not matter much. But sometimes it has consequences far greater than we might expect, even to the point of missing opportunities which may never come our way again.
Read
What do you think? A man had two sons; he went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work in the vineyard today.’ He answered, ‘I will not’; but later he changed his mind and went. The father went to the second and said the same; and he answered, ‘I go, sir’; but he did not go. Which of the two did the will of his father? They said, ‘The first.’ Matthew 21:28-31a
Reflection: I meant to do something
I meant to do something, I really did.
The thought was there,
the desire.
It’s just that I never got round to it,
never quite found the time
to turn intention into reality.
It had been on my mind for ages,
pencilled neatly into my diary
under items pending,
and I’d have got round to it eventually,
honest I would,
despite what some might say.
It was only a matter of time –
that’s what I keep telling myself;
I was simply waiting
for the right moment to arrive.
But it’s too late now, isn’t it?
The opportunity is lost,
the damage done,
and there’s nothing I can do about it,
no way of turning back the clock
and having a second stab.
I had my chance –
it was there staring me in the face –
and I blew it,
putting off until tomorrow
what I should have done today.
But you won’t be too hard, Lord, will you?
You understand.
Maybe I did let you down,
maybe I was found wanting,
but you know the thought was there,
if not the action.
My child,
haven’t you learned yet, after all this time,
that good intentions are not enough.
It’s not what you plan to do that matters,
it’s what you actually do:
whether you put your words into action,
your thoughts into deeds –
that’s the real test.
We can all make the right noises,
all build heaven in our heads,
but unless you’re prepared to roll your sleeves up,
put your money where your mouth is,
it’s not worth a penny to anyone –
just so much empty promise.
I know you meant well,
but don’t you see what your failure has done?
You’ve held back my kingdom,
frustrated my purpose,
denied my love.
Remember that the next time and learn from it –
that’s all I ask;
for though you can’t alter what’s been,
you can change what’s still to come.
So when the moment comes again,
don’t just think about it –
do it!
Read
Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord’, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven. Matthew 7:21
What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but do not have works? Can faith save you? If a brother or sister is naked and lacks daily food, and one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace, keep warm and eat your fill’, and yet you do not supply their bodily needs, what is the good of that? So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead. James 2:14-17
Little children, let us love, not in word or speech, but in truth and action. 1 John 3:18