Resolutions and Declarations

I love January. This is the time of year when we allow ourselves to DREAM again. To SEE a new reality. To HOPE for better things. To be like our younger selves, believing we could grow up and change the world!  

The world can wear us down. People disappoint us. Routines and realities deflate our hearts’ dreams, and we wonder why we haven’t gotten better at (fill in the blank: ___ ). But THIS time of year, we re-imagine our reality. We dare to RESOLVE a new strategy and DECLARE a New Frontier for our life.  

Isn’t this a bit like what our nation’s Founders did when they allowed themselves to dream of a better society? A better way for fellow citizens to live, and a system where people can truly flourish? Their vision of a bottom-up government with checks and balances against tyranny had never been tried. As with every great endeavor, there have been challenges, corruption and mistakes. It’s messy when you’re trying to change the world. But they didn’t lose Resolve, and they built their Declaration on the tried and proven principles found in the Bible. In 1776, those Revolutionary men and women really DID change the world! 

Back to you and me: “You can’t always change the world, but you CAN change YOUR world.” This is essentially what I heard a pastor say last weekend. Dr. Darryl DelHousaye’s message was inspiring. (Here’s the sermon which starts at about the 24-minute mark). 

Like changing THE world, it’s just as messy changing YOUR world, right? But don’t give up. Stay Resolved. Make wise but strong Declarations over your own life. You really CAN make a difference … and it starts, says DelHousaye, with how we treat people. How we treat people in our community, work, and political spheres—even (and especially) those we disagree with. How we treat our families, and even how we treat ourselves.  

The key is remembering the inherent dignity of each and every human. Look at how our American Founders based the Declaration that, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” 

DelHousaye highlighted Psalm 8. David was amazed that the God of all creation has placed higher honor and attention on every human being than on anything else in all the universe. I believe it’s one of the most uplifting, transformative passages you can read if you’re down on yourself, or down on other people. If you want to change yourself, your community, your irritating coworker or family member, it starts with how you THINK about them. If our thinking about people can change, THEN (and only then) can our ACTIONS really change. (Here's a novel idea: If pondering Psalm 8 can help us see the dignity in every human, maybe it would do a better job than the ‘anti-bullying’ policies at schools and universities.) 

So now, why not resolve New Thinking that leads to New Actions in YOUR WORLD for 2026? It will not only change you for the good, but also the people in your world. And maybe that will start a revolution.