Whatever your hand finds to do…

It is the beginning of a new year, and many well intended people will be making vows about the living of life in 2015. This is a good practice, and much good often comes because of vows that are made at the beginning of a year. The results from vows defy the behavioral psychologist and the determinist sociologist.

Those who read my columns realize that I am a Baptist by birth and by choice. My life has been shaped by the Baptist tradition. My Baptist tradition set me free to be the person that I have become. Those familiar with the Baptist tradition know that it is a preaching tradition. Baptists still produce great preachers. Sermons follow a pattern. Lots of Bible and lots of storytelling are followed by the invitation. The invitation is a plea to make some sort of decision about your relationship to God or to do something for God, Jesus, or the kingdom of God.

Those who know the Baptist tradition know that we are not creedal Christians. I never recall reciting the Apostle’s Creed in a Baptist gathering. Reciting a creed is not the heart of our faith. Making promises and keeping them is much closer to the core of our faith. I expect every Baptist preacher who understands the tradition in his/her first sermon of 2015 to challenge his/her congregation to do significant things in 2015 for Christ and the kingdom of God on earth. A good Baptist sermon will not be limited by 20 minutes and the invitation may well take significant time. If well done, it will not be boring.

The effective Baptist sermon will be memorable. Familiar sayings will be mixed with new illustrations and stories. A plea will always be made to do something for God, Christ and the kingdom.

With this decision-making tradition we Baptists become an aggressive lot. This aggressive side to our faith practice at times goes off course and is off Gospel targets. We argue and fuss with one another and forsake the virtue of kindness with all too much ease. I am sometimes embarrassed with our splits and bad behavior, but I do hope Baptists will always live their faith with the high energy that comes from challenging preaching and energetic decision making.

I have many times written about the aphorisms of Jesus. Aphorisms are short, memorable saying that have a punch to them. Jesus used a lot of them. The Bible preserves many of them as a means to perpetuate the truth and wisdom of the Israelite/Christian tradition.

When was the last time you read Proverbs or Ecclesiastes? King Solomon was known as a great collector of wisdom that is preserved in these two Old Testament collections. Some of the material is very dated and hardly fits reasonably into any modern setting. However, some of the wise aphorisms that are preserved are right on target for any time and any age.

One such aphorism is recorded in Ecclesiastes 9:10. “Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might.” The saying was important enough for Paul to repeat it, using different wording in Colossians 3:23. I think Jesus would say “right on.” I suspect that some Baptist preacher in my younger days laid that one on me in a highly motivating and memorable sermon. It stuck and has become a life standard. If something is worth doing, it is worthy of applying your full supply of energy.

A startling result appears. I have never allowed myself to have a plan B. That is the plan that people hold in reserve in case plan A does not work. Plan B is always flawed because it takes energy away from plan A. Does plan A ever fail? Yes. In that case a new plan A needs to be developed.

I am looking forward to the possibilities of 2015. I believe the world can be a better place for us all. There is no shortage of truly good things that can be done in the name of Christ and for the good of the whole world. There are enough Christians in the world to transform the world without the power of public office, without knife or gun, without an abusive or unkind word.

I want a better world in 2015 for our children, grandchildren and great grandchildren. To achieve true greatness, we need the best effort of us all. The Baptist approach is to ask everyone to give their very best effort to achieving a great world. I will not be so presumptuous as to try to tell everyone what they should do. We all have our part to play. We know what we should do. I simply urge what was implanted in my head and heart by some Baptist preacher many years ago. Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might. You will be surprised what you can do. Together we can build a better world.

The Rev. Howard Bess is a retired American Baptist minister, who lives in Palmer. His email address is hdbss@mtaonline.net.

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