A Mockery of New Year’s Resolutions!

John Osborne

It’s that time of year again!  Time to make your New Year’s Resolutions!  Ha!  Have you become jaded or cynical towards people making them and yet never keeping them?  Is that because it is what usually happens with your own resolutions?  Let us discuss this for a moment.

As Christians we celebrate and encourage change!  We celebrate new births, both physical and spiritual.  We affirm people when they make wise and Biblical lifestyle choices.  We encourage one another to grow in their faith.  We know from Luke 15:7 that there is “more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.”  Healthy change is celebrated!

However, there is this reality that change doesn’t come easy.  Rarely is there a straight line trajectory of progress made in one’s life.  There are hills and valleys, highs and lows when we choose to move forward.  Once again, we know as Christians that none of us are perfect.  I’ll be the first to admit that!  Yet, it’s at this point that we must remind ourselves of the need for grace.  When others falter, may we extend grace.  When we falter, may we also allow ourselves to be partakers of grace.

So, how does this all tie in with the making of New Year’s Resolutions?  Is it better to try and fail than to never try at all?  Scripture tells us in Proverbs 24:16, “for though the righteous fall seven times, they rise again.”  Perhaps it’s not so bad to make a resolution, and to pray about a change that may need to take place.  What if you do fail?  Get up and try again.   Don’t wait another year, but right away make the adjustments necessary and move forward. Here’s just a few questions to contemplate.

Would there be an area in your life that perhaps God would like you to address?

Would there be a change that you could make that might help you grow in your faith?

What about a lifestyle choice that might keep you around longer so that you could faithfully serve God for as long as possible?

May you start 2021 partnering with God and anticipating what God wants to do in and through your life.