Just hours into the start of this new year, fifteen people who, just moments before, had been enjoying the revelry and hope of what 2025 might bring, had their lives cut short in an act of terror and rage. Next week, the nation will lay to rest a former president following a period of national mourning. In the news, there’s talk about new diseases that could be the next big threat to humanity. We are mere hours into 2025 and the specter of fear and death has already made a claim on being the narrative of the next twelve months.
You know what? Violence is now, and has always been, a part of life. So has death. Every single day, countless acts of violence take place around the globe, and thousands will lose their lives. If you wanted to, you could fill every waking moment of your life reading about or watching news programs that focus on the horrible things that are taking place. Newscasters have long held to the adage “If it bleeds, it leads” so they are eager to continue driving that narrative and you won’t have to look too hard to find those stories.
But there’s a counter-narrative that is so much more uplifting, filled with hope and beauty and love. Stories of people overcoming odds, performing remarkable acts of generosity, lifting up the downtrodden, and accomplishing the unimaginable. The sorts of things associated with New Year’s resolutions, as opposed to our greatest fears. Those stories are all around us as well, but we have to look a little harder to find them because evil is always seeking the limelight.
For all who have some sort of New Year’s resolution about getting into better shape, there is an understanding that the critical step towards that resolution involves a commitment towards eating better foods. With the American notion of serving sizes and the proliferation of sugary foods and drinks that are seemingly everywhere, it takes tremendous discipline to guard what we put in our stomachs. But if we want to get through 2025 in good shape emotionally and mentally, we need to be intentional about what we will be putting in our minds. Perhaps it would be okay to submit a slightly-late New Year’s resolution: to spend considerably more time consuming stories that are beautiful than tales of terror.
In all likelihood, this upcoming year will bring times of joy and celebration, as well as times of sorrow and mourning. Yet how we handle the events of this year will depend on our state of mind. To that end, the Apostle Paul wrote some profound words of encouragement to the young church in Philippi nearly 2,000 years ago – words that we would do well to heed today. He encouraged them, declaring: “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things” (Philippians 4:8).
You are in control of what goes into your mind. This is not to say that you should ignore bad news, but rather to encourage you to approach what you think about with the realization that you will be far better off if you think about the things that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, and praiseworthy. If you start looking, you will find many of those things to think about this year.
Happy New Year – Pastor Aaron