Pastor's Corner: Three simple rules for the New Year

Yee-haw! It’s another new year and already many of the New Year’s resolutions have been broken. Years ago I quit making those annual New Year’s resolutions as it didn’t seem to matter what it was, it didn’t last very long. Instead I made a resolution to keep working on living out “Three Simple Rules: A Wesleyan Way of Living.” These are: 1. Do No Harm; 2. Do Good; and, 3. Stay in Love With God.

So what does this all mean? I want to take a few moments to review each of these principles and even suggest that if everyone would consider making these principles a part of their lives what a better world we would live in.

1. “Do No Harm.” What an easy concept and yet so difficult for many to accomplish. In our various dealings with others, are the words of our mouths and/or our actions the cause of conflict? Are we so set in our ways that there is no other way that we can accomplish the goal before us. When we speak and/or act out of anger we cause harm to another person.

“Each of us knows of groups that are locked in conflict, sometimes over profound issues and sometimes over issues that are just plain silly. But the conflict is real, the divisions deep, and the consequences can often be devastating. If, however, all who are involved can agree to do no harm, the climate in which the conflict is going on is immediately changed. How is it changed? Well if I am to do no harm, I can no longer gossip about the conflict. I can no longer talk disparagingly about those involved in the conflict. I can no longer manipulate the facts of the conflict. I can no longer diminish those who do not agree with me and must honor each as a child of God” (“Three Simple Rules: A Wesleyan Way of Living,” by Rueben P. Job, pg. 22).

And even when we believe that our intentions are good and should not cause harm, there will be those who, because of their own beliefs, will be offended by our words or actions. The only thing we can do is to work on being the best person we can be, and strive to “Do No Harm.”

2. “Do Good.” Now that we have decided that we aren’t going to intentionally cause harm to others, I also need to do good? In fact we hear those very words from Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ when he says: “But I say to you who are willing to hear: Love your enemies. Do good to those who hate you. Bless those who curse you. Pray for those who mistreat you” (Luke 6:27-28 CEB). Doing good like “Doing No Harm” is about being proactive in our dealings with everyone. How can we help? It is not about waiting to be asked for help, but rather it is about seeing something that needs to be done and facilitating it’s accomplishment. Whether we do it ourselves or get someone who is better qualified to do the task. Do we just clear our own driveway and sidewalks, or do we also clear those of our neighbors as well, especially if our neighbors are elderly or disabled? The Boy Scouts even have a saying that goes “Do a good deed daily.” We need to intentionally look for those places where we can do good, even for those we don’t like or are in conflict with. In fact all of the major religions of the world have in some fashion the Golden Rule as a part of their beliefs. Shouldn’t we incorporate that into our daily lives.

3. “Stay in Love with God.” OK, not everyone is a Christian, and not everyone believes in God. Yet our spiritual disciplines teach us to live our lives in harmony with something larger than ourselves. Or in Twelve-Step language, in something larger, more powerful, than us. Do we take time daily to be in touch with our spiritual selves. It doesn’t have to be hours, just a few minutes to center our thoughts and actions for the day so that it will be easier to fulfill our doing no harm and doing good. Staying in love with God is about being centered in our essential spiritual disciplines as they have the power to become a life-giving source of strength and guidance.

Now, I will freely admit that I fail miserably in accomplishing each of these on a daily basis. I do however, continue to work at getting better, and hopefully, I am making a difference to those I come in contact with on a daily basis.

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The Rev. William D. “Mac” McGrew

Pastor, Van Orsdel United Methodist Church.