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"Deeds, Not Words"
by Michael Okyere Asante Many people will resolve to do this or that on the 31st December, 2010, but how many will be able to fulfill their resolutions throughout the year 2011? The English translation of a saying in Latin, "Facta non verba" is the caption of this article; "Deeds, Not Words". Every night of 31st December, many people, especially Christians, make resolutions. They resolve to do this or that. Some succeed because they make their resolutions daily resolutions, while others fail because they give up on their resolutions or forget them as the days go by. To resolve involves a conscious effort in decision-making. It is not a spontaneous decision-making; you sit down, think through various possibilities considering the consequences, and decide which line of action to take. A resolution could be positive or negative, but whatever it is, in order not to compromise on what one has resolved to do, one needs to be willing, decided, and obedient to the resolutions he/she has settled on. Taking a resolution goes beyond making a concrete decision. It also involves acting upon the decision taken. For instance, if you resolve not to engage in premarital sex, you can only boast of chastity when you have been able to put into action what you resolved. "Facta non verba" (Deeds, not words) implies that actions speak louder than words. The important thing is not what we say we will do, but whether we put into action what we resolve to do. The book of James confirms this: "Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like." (James 1:22-25) "What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, "Go in peace; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead." (James 2:14-17) It is important to note that resolutions are daily activities; if you resolve to do that or stop that, it means that you are making a conscious attempt to fulfill your resolutions daily. For you to withstand the pressures of compromising on your resolutions, you must put your resolutions into action daily. Whatever resolutions you make at the end of this year, ensure that you make them your daily resolutions. Resolve daily! Michael Asante is a young author and a youth leader, and has for the past eight years been involved in teaching, encouraging, and counselling the youth. Michael blogs at http://michaelasante.blog.com . Contact him at [email protected] Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com |