"Let Him do what is good in His eyes."

In Chapter 2, a man of God previously came to Eli and warned him of the pending judgment against his sons, but it seems like Eli did not try to change or fix the situation. Then, in Chapter 3, God revealed the judgment of the house of Eli to Samuel, who later told Eli what he heard. This is where we see Eli's response:

“He is the LORD; let him do what is good in his eyes.” (1 Sam 3:18b)

It looks like Eli accepted his doomed future and didn't bother to attempt to change it, again. But even if he tried, it may have been too late.

I wonder if God would have changed His mind if Eli fasted, wept, prayed, repented? If he persuaded his sons to do likewise? Would it have been a lost cause? From 1 Sam 3:14, it sounds like God would not.

We shouldn't ask God "What if" questions because it doesn't help in understanding anything, especially if we do not receive answers. But thoughts/insights/comments are welcome.

New Year's Resolutions

First off, I just wanted to wish everyone a Happy New Year! Belated, of course. I hope 2010 was a good year to all and look forward to the surprises, blessings, challenges, and discoveries that 2011 will bring.

Reflecting back on 2010, I've made a few breakthroughs in my life, but also suffered a few setbacks. I'm not going to elaborate on each, but I wanted to share some of the New Year's resolutions I want to do to make 2011 a good one. Not that anyone would be interested in knowing, but it's a way to keep me accountable ;)

Physical

You're probably thinking: What? Physical? The Steve that I know runs, bikes, lifts weights, plays basketball/volleyball, etc. Why would you need to change this? It's true, I do all those things, which is good because it has kept me from gaining weight. But when I look at myself now, I don't feel that I'm healthier. I've been too 'lax on my health lately in many aspects - intensity of workouts, diet, and overall lifestyle. It boils down to the laziness that has crawled into my lifestyle. Newton's first law of motion states clearly that "every object in a state of uniform motion tends to remain in that state of motion unless an external force is applied to it" - that applies to being at rest! This lifestyle change has affected how hard I workout and how/what I eat. This can't be good for overall health.

What I plan to do:

• Continue with workout schedule
• Decrease sugar (I have a sweet tooth), grease, fat intake
• Stay out of the home office and go somewhere (such as AT&T) to do work - this is the killer one
• Keep moving, such as taking afternoon walks

Overall, it's just being more active in the little things, not just during the major workout sessions.

Spiritual

Thank God, I had the opportunity to serve as a counselor during this Winter SSC at Elizabeth and attend CYC in Philadelphia. This time's attendance in these events struck me to take my spirituality more seriously than ever. From all the classes and hours of prayer, it gave me a lot of time to think about my past and how much I'm not doing for Him. It brings me shame when I used to think I was doing enough. The thing is: I wasn't.

What I plan to do:

• Pray more (in the morning and night) and with more focus - I agree with what the pastor said, that when we become busy in our lives, we oftentimes sacrifice our spirituality to gain a few minutes. This should not be the case. I really need/want to keep this one.
• Be more thorough and consistent in my Bible reading - I've been slacking on this as well. Bible reading isn't just reading for enjoyment, but it's also a way of life that we need to learn from and adhere to. I want to take more time to read the Bible, understand the meanings, do some research/study for deeper discoveries.
• Servitude - I want to be more cooperative and less silo-ed when doing church work. To distribute the work and to work together are totally different task execution methods. I need to work on the latter. Also, I want to build a better relationship with my fellow brethren in Christ, so that we can all work together better. In order to do that, I need to be more humble and loving.

There's a lot more I want to work on here, but I believe that if I can work on these first, the rest will follow.

Mental, Intellectual

Some things I want to do in this aspect are more for personal development. Having good spirituality and physical body are good, but I'm also living in society. So I need to make sure I have a life.

What I plan to do:

• Read more books, magazines - Nothing in particular, but what I had in mind are business, self-improvement, technology...
• Explore new places, things, activities - I want to be more open-minded, to appreciate things like God's creation and human culture
• Keep striving to do well in my pursuits for an MBA degree - Even though I did well on my first semester (thank God), I want to keep that momentum going and continue to shoot for A's in my classes. I don't want to give myself an excuse to have a satisfactory semester because I can offset it with a good previous semester. No way!

I think I have a lot on my plate this year, but I believe can accomplish all of these as long as I put my mind to it. Ganbatte! Jia yo!

So, what are your New Year's resolutions? I hope we can all write them down somewhere, on paper or electronically, and work towards them. We all want a better world, and it starts out with changing ourselves for the better. Good luck, and happy 2011!