Lots of folks will be making resolutions in the next few days.  Better health, organization and money matters top the list each year.  Not that any of those are bad but what if we revolted against the stuff everybody else is doing and worked on our inner lives.  I see, all too often, the effects of failing to pay attention to the inner life.  Who we really are has very little to do with how much we weigh or how much money we have in our retirement accounts.  Who we really are is exposed when we are under stress, in sickness and when our plans fail.  Jesus warned the religious leaders of His day that it is a little silly to work so hard on the outside of the cup when the real problem is inside the cup.  As anyone who does dishes knows, if we work hard on cleaning the inside of the cup, the outside often looks better.  But, it is actually easier to work on the outside.  For example, running a couple miles is easier than doing the hard work of overcoming anger.  (Though exercise may help )  My point is, we too often ignore the work that will really be of most help in the long term.  Since this coming Sunday is the last Sunday of 2018, I’d like to suggest we embrace some time-proven disciplines that will help us revolt against externalism and get to the matters that matter.  Happy New Year!