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WHAT SHOULD WE LEAVE BEHIND?

James 19:1-25
December 31, 2006

Another year has swiftly passed,

Its grandeur fades before our view.

As through the open gates we walk,

From out the old into the new.

Another year has dimmed its light,

And drawn its shade forever more,

And never will the world again

Unlock that barred and guarded door.

Another year has waved good-bye,

And said farewell to humankind;

Yet all the lessons that it learned

It does not take, but leaves behind.

Another year has claimed its share

Of loved ones we have lost awhile,

But it has also showered love

In answer to each new babe's smile.

A brand new year is now before,

It's brilliant light reveals the dawn,

Reminding us, that though we rest

The wheels of time move ever on.

It's the end of the year! There are many who will look back wistfully, sorry to see it go. They will remember the opportunities and happiness it brought. There are others who will be glad. Perhaps they feel the year has been unkind to them, or they have become sick at heart because of the turmoil, confusion, and bloodshed that have marred every day since its beginning.

Although we face tomorrow with confidence, let us not deceive ourselves. This year began with the same hilarious celebration that started other years. The year was greeted with the well wishes of the multitudes. Yet suffering violence, war and famine have continued throughout. To think that a new year is of itself capable of changing conditions, is illogical. It is not a new year the world needs, but a new spirit. Without that, there is no hope.

Dr. Norman V. Peale told of visiting Italy. He said, "The Romans deal with the old and take on the new, not just symbolically, but actually, by throwing out the window any old or worn-out thing, such as a torn dress, a worn out suit, a cracked dish, or a dilapidated chair." He said, "Our Roman friends warned us, quite seriously, to stay in the hotel to avoid being hit by one of those flying objects.

The idea has merit. Not only for New Year's Eve but for every day. The throwing away of old things might go beyond material objects to include the disposal of fearful or depressing thoughts hostile and resentful feelings and unproductive habits.

If you resolve to do it and do it regularly, the ritual of deliberate thought-emptying will get the mind in good working order for the next experience. Just summon up all the glum impressions the jealousies and animosities, the regrets and discouragements with which the mind becomes cluttered, and visualize them passing out of consciousness. Affirm to yourself, "These thoughts are now passing out of my mind. They leaving me right now."

Yes, it's the end of the year! Let it go, but not empty handed. In order to have a better year in 2007, we must leave certain things behind.

I. FIRST, SELFISHNESS SHOULD BE DISCARDED.

A little girl named Mary had come home from a tough day at school. She stretched herself out on the living room sofa to have her own private pity party. She moaned to her mother and brother, "Nobody loves me . . . the whole world hates me!"

Her brother busily occupied with his Nintendo hardly looked her way as he passed on this encouraging word. "That's not true, Mary. Some people don't even know you."

Paul said, "Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others" (Phil. 2:4).

Selfishness should be discarded.

II. NEXT, MISUNDERSTANDING SHOULD BE DISCARDED.

A man said, "Late one afternoon I was preparing to leave my apartment with a visitor. I went over to my cat who was perched on his favorite chair. 'Now, Louie,' I said, bending down to his level, 'Mr Davidson and I are going out for something to eat. You have everything you need, so take care of the apartment and I'll be back a round ten o'clock and I'll tell you all about it.'

"What in the world are you doing?" my friend gasped. "I told him abut the newspaper article that claimed that household pets, adjusted to the routines of their owners, and any sudden change of routine caused them to become upset. The article stated that when this kind of reaction occurred, the owner should explain t he situation to the animal."

He asked, "And that works?" I nodded.

Halfway through dinner my friend said, "I've been thinking about you and your cat. Wouldn't it be nice if people communicated with one another like that? There would be less hurt, less argument, less pouting and less misunderstanding.

The Psalmist said, "How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity!" (Psa. 133:1, niv).

Misunderstanding should be discarded.

III. THEN, TOUCHINESS SHOULD BE DISCARDED.

Once when someone asked Robert E. Lee what he though of a mutual acquaintance. He said, "I think he's a very fine gentleman."

"Well, he's going around saying some very uncomplimentary things about you," the troublemaker said. What's your opinion now?"

"You didn't ask what he thought of me," Lee replied with a faint smile. "You asked what I thought of him. I think he's a very fine gentleman."

James said, "My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry" (James 1:19).

Touchiness should be discarded.

IV. ALSO, HATRED SHOULD BE DISCARDED.

A man complained that he found it hard to love cranky, critical people. Just then, a four year old walked into the room. His companion said, "This child has been severely abused. His trust in himself and those around him has almost been destroyed. He's sitting in front of you and you are going to try to reach him. How do you begin?"

Answers came quickly. "I'd try to find something about him I could compliment sincerely. I's search for things he's be interested in and talk about them. I'd tell him I was here to talk if he wished; but if he didn't, I was still here because I cared."

"Very good answers," the psychologist smiled. "Now add about fifteen or twenty years to that little child and you might well have that antagonistic person you're dealing with. You must help this person too, in exactly the same way."

Christian love is the answer, whether you're dealing with a hurting child or a hostile adult.

Paul said, "Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you" (Eph. 4:32).

Hatred should be discarded.

V. FINALLY, BITTERNESS SHOULD BE DISCARDED.

Dr. Harry Emerson Fosdick, the famous pastor of Riverside Church in New York City, tells a fascinating story about a vulture. It was a wintry day on the Niagara River below Buffalo, New York. The vulture lit on a carcass floating down the river and began to feed. It intended to feed as long as it could, and then at the last moment, to fly away to safety just above the falls. But when the time came, the vulture tried to fly, only to discover to its horror that it's claws had become frozen to the carcass it was feeding on. And the vulture plunged over the falls to its death. That vulture was made for the skies, but it was crammed into a cage of its own making, imprisoned and destroyed by the clutch of its claws.

That's what happens when we hold grudges. Moses said, "Do not hate your brother in your heart . . . Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against one of your people but love your neighbor as yourself . . ." (Lev. 19:17a-18a).

Bitterness should be discarded.

Let's go into the New Year with positive attitudes and a determination to make a difference in our family, community, nation and world.

Say yes to life, yes to other people and yes to Christ. Minnie Louise Haskins, in "The Gate of the year," said it powerfully:

I said to the man who stood at the gate of the year, "Give me light that I may tread safely into the unknown."

And he replied, "Go out into the darkness and put your hand into the hand of God. That shall be to you better than a light and safer than a known way!"

A wise man once said, "Write bad experiences in sand; but, etch good experiences in marble."

So, as we move into 2007, let's leave behind the negative, hurtful disappointments, and carry with us the positive, uplifting achievements and successes.

(WC1440)

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This issue of NEW PERSPECTIVES is from an unpublished manuscript © copyrighted 2006 by Miles and Maralene Wesner, Idabel, OK. PLEASE FEEL FREE TO USE THEM IN ANY WAY YOU THINK IS APPROPRIATE. The only thing we ask is that you give credit for original material in PUBLISHED works.

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