A Soul Care Resolution By Wes Willmer and Micah Hogan

Did You Make a Resolution For Soul Care?

Tis the season for making a resolution or two. We’ve all heard the standard ones: lose weight, get out of debt, eat less junk food, pray and read the Bible more often, etc.

What about you? What resolutions have you made for this coming year?  Do any of them have to do with the health of your soul? In this season of change, consider making a resolution to master the critical connection between stuff and the soul.

Biblical Perspective

In Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus tells us how incomparably valuable the soul is:

“For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?” (Matt. 16:26, NKJV).

No matter how much stuff we acquire, even if we were somehow able to gain the whole world, it would be worthless if we didn’t take care of our souls. Yet, so often we are tempted to use our stuff as a distraction, rather than as a tool to form our souls for eternity.

If our souls really are so valuable, wouldn’t it be wise to make a resolution to mature our soul by stewarding our resources for God’s kingdom? Isn’t becoming rich toward God the most sensible way to navigate this new year? Here are three tips, inspired by The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg,  for making healthy soul habits in our journey through the new year.

Step 1: Reminder

Many times our intentions are good, and we want to make an effort to intentionally steward God’s resources for His glory, but we forget or get distracted. Be intentional this year by setting reminders for yourself. Hold yourself accountable by talking with family, friends, and pastors about your goals. Technology makes this part easy. Set up a recurring event on your calendar each week reminding you to consider how best to steward your resources.

Step 2: Routine

One of the biggest pitfalls of new year’s resolutions is that people try to do too much too soon. Instead of committing to a grand gesture of generosity, decide to commit yourself to giving smaller regular amounts to one or two ministries throughout the year. This is better for your soul, since it is being habitually trained in faithful giving, but it is also better for the life of the ministries you contribute to.

Step 3: Reward

All throughout Scripture, God promises us eternal rewards for our earthly stewardship of possessions (Matt. 6:20, 1 Tim. 1:19, etc.). However, these rewards are partially foreshadowed here on earth in the fullness of the Church community (Mk. 10:29-30). By faithfully stewarding our possessions for God’s glory, we enter more fully into the joyous, self-giving life of the fellowship of believers, who in the early days “had all things in common” (Acts 4:32). Don’t let this reward pass you by— accept it by opening yourself up to a deeper relationship with the Christians around you.

This year, let’s resolve to master the critical connection between stuff and the soul. Let’s form our souls through stewarding stuff in 2020. Set reminders, establish routines, and reap the rewards. When we do this, we are rich toward God and are refusing to trade our soul for the things of this world.

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Wes Willmer, Ph.D. CCNL is the principal of the Wes Willmer Group. He has served ministries in their fundraising efforts for over five decades. Wes also serves on the Christian Leadership Alliance Advisory Council.

Micah Hogan is a recent graduate of the Torrey Honors Institute at Biola University pursuing his Masters of Divinity from Nashotah House Theological Seminary as an aspirant for holy orders in the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA). He is the theology editor at The PQ Review, and is primarily interested in the ways that desire, nature, and grace intersect in the person of Jesus Christ..

Learn more about forming your soul for eternity in Wes Willmer and Micah Hogan’s new book: Stuff and Soul: Mastering the Critical Connection.

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