Signs of the Times
Topic: New Year [From the Argonaut, San Francisco, California]
It matters not by which calendar one reckons the going of the old year, the birth of the new. The real New Year is not marked on any human calendar; it comes not by the calculations of man, or by the gyrations of astronomical spheres.
The advent of a new year means the coming of new—and better—thoughts, which in turn are the unfailing harbingers of better lives, healtheir individuals, more tolerant neighborliness. The dying of the old year represents, conversely, the uprooting of the old order, the plucking up of weeds, the tilling of the soil of the human heart that the blossoms of love, kindness, consideration—the Golden Rule—may shine forth anew to brighten the human pathway.
There is nothing so sadly tragic as gazing upon the debris of a departed festival; the "music hath ceased, the guests are gone, and the heart hath returned to its grieving." Likewise, there is nothing so tragic as to see the passing of the New Year as merely a bright light of the moment, an occasion for fleeting human pleasure, which only gives way to the old order of things.
To the thinker, the doer, the humanitarian, the New Year is not merely a date on the calendar, a night of celebration, a time for registration of unctuous resolutions, the chronic resolve to "do better," or the mere giving of gifts.
To those able to reach the heart of humanity, the New Year represents opportunity. It means a glorious escape from the hampering chains of wrong thinking, selfishness toward neighbor, worker, employer, family. It is the occasion for taking on, with gladdened heart and the humility of understanding, a new burden—a burden of light, by which a new, a better path may be found—the path that leads upward.
And whether one is a lawyer, banker, broker, mechanic, or cotton picker, this goal is the ultimate of all human desire—it leads to happiness, contentment, fellowship. It leads to good government, both in one's personal affairs, in city, state, and nation. It is the way to peace, effective equally in national, international, capital, labor, and economic activities.
Right thinking must precede right doing. Right thinking cannot come to a heart already filled with wrong thoughts, selfishness, cruelty, inconsideration. When these shall have died, the "old year" goes; when new and better thoughts are entertained—thoughts which foreshadow new and better actions—the New Year is at hand, whatever may be one's race or creed.
And to one willing to give up the old for the new, glad to see uprooted the traits, thoughts, and actions which may have retarded progress, made the way more steep, increased the burdens of others—for such the way is clear to that "peace of God, which passeth all understanding"—and to the attainment of the real New Year.
[Rev. L. B. Ashby, in the Morning Post, London, England]
Would it not be possible, I wonder, for all of us, as we begin this New Year, to take a real step forward, and aim at becoming, not just a little, but an immense deal, better?
When it is our worldly circumstances which are in question it is as well that we should be content with moderate results. Indeed, we should be much happier people if, in our mundance affairs, we acted as those who believe that "godliness with contentment is great gain"—as it most certainly is. But when it comes to the question of our spiritual life and the quality of our characters, then the mistake which most of us make is that of showing a fatal readiness to be content with far too little, or even to acquiesce in things as they are....
And this state of mind can become a really dangerous temptation; for as year after year goes by with no real effort made towards definite improvement, we can come to persuade ourselves that "we are what we are"—the result of our nature or disposition or environment—and that "we can make no better of it;" as if there were no such thing as the grace of God or the forces of the Spirit; as though there were not on every side of us men and women whose lives and characters are a standing evidence of what can be done with this human nature of ours, when there is real religion of the heart and an honest desire to be more like Christ in thought, word, and deed.... Now might we not, at this fresh milestone on life's highway, make a determined effort to shake ourselves free from this paralyzing acquiescence in "things as they are," and take a definite step forward into a very much higher and happier, nobler and kindlier life? ...
Then, again, are we nearly as kind to each other as we might be? That word "love," so frequently met with in the New Testament, has somehow been so represented that it has come to appear to be a far grander, and infinitely less real, thing than it really is; and so we are apt to let it go unattempted, as being an unattainable counsel of perfection. But what it really means is just kindliness—nothing more than that. Not heroics. For "love" let us put the word "kindness," which is really the right word, and a word, too, of which we all know the meaning very well indeed. What we want to do is to think of "love" in its homeliest and most everyday manifestations, as something of which the natural sphere is among commonplace people going through the rubs of ordinary life.
Could we not be far kinder in the way we treat people; kinder in the things which we say about them, kinder in the judgments which we pass upon them, more willing to see all the good that there is in human nature, mroe ready to be blind to its failings? It is in the power of all of us so immensely to sweeten human life for others, if only we would make it our rule to do nothing but what is kind.
If we are seeking—what I heartily wish for us all—a Happy New Year, we shall find it most assuredly in taking for our motto, "The larger heart, the kindlier hand."
[From the Herald, Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada]
The coming of a new year, beyond being a date in the calendar, has a special significance. We start the New Year with experiences gained, with hope renewed. The year past may have been a year of personal shortcomings if we choose to review it in a personal way. If we view the year that is past in this way and seek to profit by the review, the New Year will mean a rededication of ourselves to those things which constitute the serious things of life, and which give life a meaning and a purpose. "Let us then be up and doing," is a good motto to start the new year with. That is, if we take the meaning of New Year's Day seriously. If we adopt this motto it will mean a resolve to rededicate ourselves, making up for what we may regard as shortcomings in the year that is past, remembering that, unless we realize this, the New Year which has started might possibly be a year of regrets just as the old year may have been to us....
Every year as it passes away means the passing of a milestone in life. We are wont to speak of New Year resolutions. What better resolution is there than to resolve to rededicate ourselves to a new life? taking a new vision in remembering that there is always hope ahead, that the way will not always be weary, and that "in the evening time it shall be light." Looking upon the coming year with hope, bracing ourselves to meet the year before us with resolute spirit, rededicating ourselves to a new purpose, we shall give the New Year something of significance, and in so doing profit not only ourselves but our fellow men.
[Rev. Ralph Blake Hindman, D.D., in the Evening Times, Buffalo, New York]
Love makes a family, a home, a friendship, and a religion. It has well been called the greatest thing in the world.
Faith may fail at times, but if you will keep on loving, loving the best in life and the highest until they get such a grip on you that you will give to them the best you have, then you will have a value which will go far toward making a happy new year.... The most fortunate of us will have difficult experiences. Sorrow is no respecter of persons. Life's hardships must be faced. And to meet them you will need all of the spiritual courage your soul can possess.
Faith to accept life, love to interpret it, and courage to face it, may these values be yours.
How can they be secured? They are spiritual qualities, and one sure way to possess them is by living in relationship with God, who can supply them sufficient for your needs.
Centuries ago St. John wrote to Gaius these words, which sound like a New Year's wish from one friend to another: "Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth."
[From the Canadian Observer, Sarnia, Ontario, Canada]
It is a common habit of people, on reaching the age of fifty or sixty, to assume that the constructive period of life is over and that they must only concentrate on matters that pertain to eventual death.
There are many cases on record, however, which show that this is an idea that ought to be discouraged for the reason that most of the big projects in the world were conceived and carried out by people past the half-century mark and many of them by those past the threescore and ten often referred to as the human age limit.
A case is reported from Boston where an elderly woman, a grandmother, has just been admitted to the practice of law. Nine years ago she informed her children and grandchildren that she had ambitions to become a lawyer, but they laughed at her. She did not have even a high school education. She started in to overcome this handicap and took the regulation examinations and then the monotonous law course. She has the satisfaction of attaining her desire.
The authorities on these matters say that one of the factors conducive to long life and good health is to remain acquisitive, to keep on striving to attain even remote and difficult achievements. The human mind always has tremendous possibilities, which is a good thing for those who are easily discouraged, to remember. The factor that stands mainly in the way of achievement is indolence, the failure to persist in the failure to persist in the face of seeming defeat.
[Dr. C. F. Garbett, the Bishop of Winchester, in the Guardian, London, England]
The most useful of all New Year resolutions for many to make would be to decide to set apart, each day, a definite time in which to seek God in prayer and in Bible reading.
