A New Year's resolution worth keeping

I'm not going to resolve to lose a certain number of pounds in 2016, although I should. I'm not going to resolve to whittle down the items on my bucket list, the things I'd like to do before I die -- laudable, but not worthy of a lot of attention right now. I'm not going to resolve to become more organized, but that's a great goal.

No, I'm going to resolve to do something more difficult than all of the aforementioned. I'm going to try to live by the dictates of Philippians 4:8: "Whatever is true, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable, if anything is excellent or praiseworthy, think about such things."

Earlier in the same chapter, Paul urges two members of the church in Philippi to "be of the same mind," giving rise to the supposition they weren't getting along.

Perhaps they were at one another's throats. Such things can and do happen -- inside the church and out. Once you have a falling out with someone, it's very hard for things to go back as they were.

Anyone who knows me realizes following St. Paul's admonition will be tough for this author. I stub- bornly hold on to too many grudges and resentments. Letting them go would be akin to setting adrift a favored child.

Let me employ a different metaphor by way of explanation: Water may have been thrown on a largely doused campfire, but if the embers are allowed to smolder, a new blaze can erupt. I've been too content to let those remnants flicker.

My mind goes to an old film, nearly a half-century old, "Cool Hand Luke." The warden tells the character played by Paul Newman, "We've got to get your mind right."

How are you doing with grudges and resentments as a new year dawns? Too hard to let them go? Let me tell you about Josh Kezer, a man I've written about previously in this column.

Josh was sent to prison at age 18 for second-degree murder. After 16 years in prison, a judge set him free in 2009, declaring he was innocent of the slaying; he wasn't even present at the crime scene.

A terrible injustice seems a colossal understatement. Josh lost the years during which so many important things in a life normally occur -- going to college, meeting and marrying a spouse, starting a family, embarking on a career.

He went into the penitentiary a kid; he emerged with gray hair. I invited him to speak on a couple of occasions at a church following his release. It was with some trepidation that he stepped into that pulpit.

A prosecuting attorney and a judge were members of the congregation. The fear Josh might use this forum to lambaste the criminal-justice system was on my mind.

Instead, Josh decided to live by Philippians 4:8: "No one has more reason to be bitter than me. And I'm not allowing what happened to me to rule me. So, friends, what are you holding on to?" It was one of the most convicting moments I've ever experienced in a worship service.

Again, readers, what are you doing with grudges and resentments? Maybe it's time for me -- and for you -- to get our minds right.

Happy new year.