Setting Goals with Courage: Lessons from Proverbs 23:4

By: Kennedy Crites

New Year's resolutions… Do they even work? What is a “good” New Year's resolution? Well, common ones may be eating healthier or making more money but that doesn’t mean they are good ones.

According to Proverbs 23:4 “Do not wear yourself out to get rich; be wise enough to desist.” So maybe some goals are better than others. When I was in 8th grade I set a New Year's resolution to get into Villa Duchesne. I was scared to actually go through with it for a few reasons, one being I was scared the classes would be too hard, and that the girls would be stereotypical mean girls. But I trusted God and took the leap. Was it hard at first? Yes, adjusting to anything new can be hard. But I knew it would be worth it. The main reason why I stuck it out was because I knew I was in it for the right reasons. I knew it would be a school that would make me not only a better student but a better person as well.

This is exactly what our proverb is about. It is about not having goals for the wrong reasons. In this proverb, it says “Do not wear yourself out to get rich”. The main thing I took away from this was that you shouldn’t strive only for material gains. The only thing you get from material goals is material gains. The second part of the proverb is “Be wise enough to desist.” The definition of desist is “to cease or abstain”. This just means if you realize the only goals you have are for material gains, you should stop, reassess, and set new ones. Put together this proverb is teaching us that there are good and bad goals, and the good ones are the goals that will make you a better person. At the end of someone’s life they don’t think I wish I made more money, they always wish they’d spent just a little bit longer with their daughter, son, husband etc. Instead of material goals, God wants us to strive to become better people through him. The types of goals that we should be setting are ones that will further us as people. For instance, if you feel like you have distanced yourself from God, you could make a goal for yourself to follow a Bible reading plan or join a Bible study. These are the types of goals that will bring you happiness and set you up for prosperity in this life, and after.

After reading this, I hope that you reflect on your goals and maybe tweak some to make them even better. The best goals are the ones that grow with you. Lastly, I want to leave you with one thought: It’s okay to change your goals when you realize they don’t reflect who you want to become.