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Dear Chuck:
A lot of us — myself included — will make New Year’s Resolutions about money or family or career, maybe even about learning a new skill. (I keep saying I’m going to learn to play guitar.) But does the Bible have anything to say about this kind of thing? Is this a secular pursuit?
Getting Ready for the New Year.
Dear Getting Ready,
Welcome to the New Year, and thanks for your question. Making plans and setting goals is something that we all do throughout the year, so beginning 2016 with a list can be a great way to make sure that you’re moving in a direction that can change your life and the lives around you for the better. But in scripture, the question isn’t really whether we should set goals (we should) but about what we should do next.
First: God’s word strongly recommends that we plan carefully and commit to completing what we choose to do, so that it will be a job well done.
In Luke 14: 28-31, Jesus says: “Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it? For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you, saying, ‘This person began to build and wasn’t able to finish.’ Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Won’t he first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand?.”
You can see in this passage, that Jesus urges us not only to plan but also to plan for a total commitment to a good outcome.
Second: The Bible advocates getting some good advice so that your plans can succeed. Proverbs 16:20 notes, “Whoever gives heed to instruction prospers,and blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord.” Or consider Proverbs 15:22, “Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed.”
More than 40 years ago, Larry Burkett founded Crown Financial Ministries because he recognized that people needed the practical principles and counsel from God’s word, to meet their goals whether you’re building a business, trying to get out of debt or re-thinking your career.
Click here to read more.
SOURCE: The Christian Post
Chuck Bentley is the CEO of Crown, the largest Christian financial ministry in the world, founded by the late, Larry Burkett. He is an author, host of My MoneyLife- a daily radio feature and a frequent speaker on the topic of Biblical financial principles. Follow him on Twitter @chuckbentley and visit Crown.org for more help.
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