I fear that many a man's good resolutions only need the ordinary

"I fear that many a man's good resolutions only need the ordinary fire of daily life to make them melt away. So, too, with fine professions and the boastings of perfection which abound in this age of shams." — thus spoke Charles Spurgeon, the prince of preachers, whose words burned with the light of moral clarity. In this quote, Spurgeon does not merely criticize hypocrisy; he mourns the frailty of the human will — that noble intention which so often melts in the heat of ordinary life. His lament is not for the sinner alone, but for the dreamer, the reformer, and the well-intentioned soul who, though aflame in the moment of resolution, cools when tested by the wearying winds of the everyday.

In the ancient way of speaking, we might say: many men build temples in the dawn, but by noon they are already in ruins. The fire of daily life — toil, temptation, inconvenience, fatigue — is the great furnace in which the truth of our promises is tried. Words are easy, Spurgeon reminds us; actions under pressure reveal what endures. A man may swear to forgive, yet grow bitter when insulted; he may vow to serve the poor, yet turn away when service costs him comfort. Thus, the good resolutions that seemed solid as steel often prove to be wax — fine to look upon, yet quick to soften beneath the sun.

Spurgeon’s age of shams was Victorian England, but his words might well be spoken of our own time. For what are our modern boasts — our public declarations, our online virtue, our carefully curated images — if not the same fragile wax dressed up as gold? Men and women alike proclaim their enlightenment, their compassion, their strength of principle, yet tremble when life demands quiet endurance rather than applause. The boastings of perfection he speaks of are not only falsehoods told to others, but lies we whisper to ourselves, to hide our weakness from our own hearts.

Consider the ancient tale of Peter the Apostle, who vowed to stand beside his Master even unto death. Yet when the fire of daily trial came — when the cock crowed and the shadows of fear fell upon him — his courage melted away, and he denied the very one he loved. This story is not told to shame him, but to remind us that resolution without endurance is but the morning mist. Yet when Peter wept and began again, he proved that melted wax can be remade, that the fire which destroys can also purify. So too must we learn to let trial refine, not consume, the metal of our convictions.

The ordinary fire that Spurgeon speaks of is not grand suffering or mighty tragedy. It is the small and constant test — the daily irritations, the unnoticed choices, the moments when no one is watching. These are the places where the strength of one’s soul is proved. The hero is not made in the roar of the battlefield, but in the quiet resistance to temptation, in the steadfast holding of truth when compromise would be easier.

Thus, the wise man does not boast of perfection; he prepares for testing. He tempers his resolutions as a smith tempers steel — heating, cooling, shaping, until they can endure the flame without melting. And he does not fear the fire of daily life, for he knows it will either expose falsehood or strengthen truth. The hypocrite dreads the furnace; the righteous welcomes it, saying, “Let my works be tried, that they may shine.”

The lesson, therefore, is this: guard not your resolutions from fire, but through fire. Make no vows you are unwilling to bleed for. When you promise goodness, prepare for testing. When you profess faith, prepare for the silence of doubt. When you boast of love, prepare to love through weariness and misunderstanding. For only the virtues that endure heat are worthy to be called virtues at all.

And so, my children, let Spurgeon’s warning dwell within your hearts: beware the age of shams, and be real. Let your goodness be quiet, your truth be proven, and your resolutions be forged in the ordinary fires of the day. For the sun will rise, and it will test every man’s words — and only those whose hearts are true will stand unmelting beneath its light.