Resolved...

Every year, I purposefully read Jonathan Edwards "Resolutions." He is definitely one of my favorite "old guys" to read. Many years ago, he wrote his own set of "Resolutions." To me, it's critical at this time of year as we look back on one year and look forward to another. Some of my favorite "Resolutions" include...

Resolved, never to do anything, which I would be afraid to do, if it were the last hour of my life.

Resolved, whenever I do any conspicuously evil action, to trace it back, till I come to the original cause; and then both carefully endeavor to do so no more, and to fight and pray with all my might against the original of it.

Resolved, after afflictions, to inquire, what I am the better for them, what good I have got by them, and what I might have got by them.

I'd venture to say there aren't too many people who think this deeply and this seriously about themselves. Self-examination is often a painful, yet fruitful exercise. Every time I read them, I think about how silly it is for me to think I'm really doing something important when I give my best effort to lose 10 pounds. Guys like Edwards had such perspective when it came to God and the world they lived in.

I highly recommend reading these "resolutions" and then let them "read you."

Jonathan Edwards' Resolutions (1722-1723)