Count the cost: Don’t make random resolutions

Most people generally make New Year Resolutions to help them have a plan, a goal and a target for the year. Making plans for the coming year is a sure way to start the year right. Unfortunately some people have decided not to have any plans for the New Year because their previous plans were not attained. Others prefer to take each day as it comes and allow God to be in control. Obviously failing to plan is planning to fail. A recipe for failure in life is a purposeless, plan-less and goalless life. Anything goes and anything comes is the way for the lazy and procrastinating person. Anyone hoping to live to fulfill life and destiny should be conscious about having a template or life’s purpose to guide them.

“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?” (‭‭Luke‬ ‭14:28‬)

Conversely, a haphazardly prepared New Year Resolutions in itself is also a recipe for failure. You cannot put random ideas together and without any plan expect them to work for you. In fact, even Jesus, being aware of the essence of well-defined plans, advised His followers this way: “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?” (‭‭Luke‬ ‭14:28‬). Jesus admonishes that planning is very necessary for every endeavour in life. The one who decides to build a tower should first sit down and make a detailed estimation of how much it cost to complete it. This estimate will include all the initial activities related to the tower, the time needed to complete it and the financial obligations needed to fulfill this project. Without the project plan, the builder of the tower might spend time and resources without knowing how much is really needed. This is also a recipe for abandoned projects.

Our New Year Resolutions should be well-defined and well-thought-out to meet our needs, goals and objectives. Imagine I suddenly write in my New Year Resolutions that I want to be the Prime Minister of Canada in the coming year. This is not just outrageous for me but also unrealistic at all angles considering many things together. However, a resolution to take 2 or 3 developmental courses in Human Resources Management might be the right approach should I consider a career change in the coming year. Thus, our Resolutions should be backed by our life’s goals and purpose. It will be a waste of time and resources to start something we know we cannot complete. Even the desire to be consistent with our spiritual growth shouldn’t be made without knowing our current spiritual needs. When we understand what we really need to grow spiritually, we make plans to help with those areas.

A New Year’s Resolution should be doable and attainable. As we are in the wee hours to the year’s ending, take a day or two and prayerfully consider what you really need for the coming year. Have them documented and match these things to your life’s purpose. Remember, every Resolution comes with commitment. Consider if you are able to keep up with the commitment involved. If you cannot keep up with it, don’t document it. Personally, a resolution I made prior to the end of 2022 was to write a Bible-based blog post each day from Monday to Friday in 2022 and 2023. The latter part of 2022 and the beginning of 2023 were very difficult moments in my family. In my lowest moments, I still sat down and wrote blog posts. To me, that was the cost I had to bear in my commitment to be consistent.

Before you call it your Resolution, know that it needs consistency and commitment to achieve it. If you cannot commit to it, don’t even start. Count the cost, know your strengths and your goals before you begin. May the Lord help us even as we commit to our Resolutions.

Have a blessed New Year!

Striving for excellence: A holistic approach to health and well-being

The measure of the quality of our lives is dependent on different factors. Today, let’s consider healthy lifestyles. Everyone desires to have a blissful future with good health and success. I am not sure that anyone who is sane will desire a future with a frail body. Even people who are active in sports have health care for emergency purposes. It is very important to strive for a sustainable future with good health. Definitely, only God knows the future but we should not take that for granted and neglect our health. If we refuse to give attention to our health, God knows that we will be operating with weak bodies in the future. We should consider a holistic approach towards our health and well-being. We should be considerate with whatever goes into us. Food does not make us unrighteous (Matthew 15:11) but food can contribute to adverse health problems. 

“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? (Luke 14:28)

In order to live a purpose-driven life, we should purposely consider efforts towards a sustainable future of good health. Accidents do happen but we can control the least accidental situation. Eating unhealthy foods is not an accident. Refusing to exercise the body is not an accident. Not having time to invest in your health is not an accident. We have to intentionally strive for healthy lifestyles. It is a cost we have to bear if we want to live a purposeful life. Jesus asked His disciples in Luke 14:28: “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?” Have we counted the cost of attaining a healthy lifestyle? Are we ready to make sacrifices to stop eating unhealthy foods because of the implications they have on the body? Are we committed to glorifying God with healthy lifestyles?

We cannot present what we do not have. You cannot preach that Jesus saves when you need to be saved from the clutches of addiction. Imagine waking up to find the preacher in your church in the news for drunk driving. I am not sure, if he gives a sermon on “Living to please God” you will be pleased. Imagine yourself in the court of God and you need to defend yourself about being a good custodian of your body. What will be your defense? An excellent Christian lifestyle is a holistic approach to ensuring both spiritual growth and maturity,  and physical well-being. God wants us to prosper in all we do. He will not do for us what He has entrusted us to do. No amount of grace will cause God to exercise for you. No level of Spirituality will cause you to escape the general needs of the body. If we want to have a fulfilling Christian life, we should be good stewards of our lives. 

Kingdom financial principles: Count the cost

Growing up in a developing country, I encountered several abandoned projects. These projects were started with good intentions but along the way, the owners or the pioneers gave up. Surprisingly, not only were individual projects abandoned but government projects were left incomplete. What could be the reason for these abandoned projects? These projects had originally been initiated with good intentions so why halt them? Good intentions alone cannot raise a structure, build an investment plan or prepare for a sustainable future. We need proper planning and strategies to ensure growth and continuity. 

For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it (Luke 14:28 NKJV)

Jesus admonishes us to count the cost before starting to build a tower, “For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it” (Luke 14:28 NKJV). It is prudent to always count the cost before beginning any venture. When we count the cost, we make adequate preparation for the project. We commit time and resources into projects knowing that the returns are great. However, if we do not count the cost, we might end up stopping midway. I have engaged in several ventures that halted midway. I did not count the cost and I wasted time and resources that yielded nothing. When I sat down later to ponder over it, I told myself, “I should not have started this in the first place.”

Some businesses look lucrative from the beginning but they ultimately cost so much to build and manage and the competition is outrageous. Do not be moved by inviting advertising to invest in businesses you cannot afford to run. That advertiser saying that it costs nothing is the same person who will charge you everything just to give you the information needed to start. Before committing to any venture, know how much is involved, get details, know the intricacies and the possible ways to get trained for it. Document everything and consider your financial strength in relation to the business you are about to enroll in. Seek professional counseling if possible and do not make hasty decisions. It is better not to start a project than to invest a substantial amount of money into it and lose it all. 

Jesus shared today’s verse when admonishing his followers on leaving everything and following Him. Our walk with the Lord comes at a cost and we should not lose sight of that. Remember that you have been called into a union with Christ and that should affect both your spiritual growth and your personal development. There are certain decisions we make ìn life that can affect our spiritual and physical well-being. Do not allow lack of  financial diligence to cause a stagnation in your spiritual growth.