Rethinking New Year’s Resolutions
by Chris Hendrix
At this time every year, we’re inundated with new year resolutions. Lists and routines are created that promise to achieve goals that will transform us. Aspirations spread like seeds in a fertile field where hard work and diligent labor promise fruit. Yet, many sputter out as the hardship of life bear down upon these aspirations. Why is this, and how should we think about New Year’s Resolutions from Scripture?
The primary reason these things don’t last is because we don’t last. Scripture declares to us that we are merely a vapor in the wind. The Psalmist in Psalm 73:26 writes that our flesh and heart will fail. We’re reminded of these truths on the death anniversaries of loved ones, in news stories on the end of a celebrity’s life, and every time a new COVID restriction is declared. Life is fragile. Life is short. Yet, we live like our present lives will extend on the timeline infinitely. So, we make resolutions that are supposed to last, but are rooted in our pride. When the chief end of man is man, then there is not enough determination we can muster in order to fulfill them. Our strength, might, and power always fail.
In fact, this desire to better ourselves goes all the way back to Genesis 3. When Eve looked upon the tree while the words of the serpent rang in her mind, she envisioned being wiser (Genesis 3:6). For Eve, and Adam as well, the Word of the Creator was replaced with the word of the created. Thus, the hearts of our first parents turned to magnifying the human race and lifting image bearers higher than they ought. The pursuit of betterment actually became the fall from perfection because our ancestors lost sight of our purpose. And because we descend from Adam, this cycle continues in us today. When we seek to better ourselves, when we are the pinnacle of the source and destination of our worship, than we fail and fall.
Resolutions, when thought through biblically aren’t bad. In order to redeem them, we must have a right theology of New Year’s Resolutions. I say “right,” because every person already has a theology on this, but is it the right theology? One defined by Scripture?
Though many passages in Scripture come together to describe how to think about resolutions, one such passage encapsulates the total truth. Paul writes in 2 Thessalonians 1:11-12, “To this end also we pray for you always, that our God will count you worthy of your calling, and fulfill every desire for goodness and the work of faith with power, so that the name of our Lord Jesus will be glorified in you, and you in Him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.” Immediately, we see Paul addressing the Lord in prayer. This means that what Paul is about to write is a work of God!
What is this work? That God will count, or make, the Christian worthy of the calling that each one has been called into. The Lord fashions each child of His in a way to reflect His name, His salvation, and His glory. God makes Christians better, which happens because of the salvation we have been given, the high calling we have been brought into. This improving work then expresses itself through our desires and actions. Our desires are expressed through resolutions and our actions are seen in the tangible outworking of our desires. These resolutions have a modifier to them though, and that is the word goodness. This goodness is defined in the context of Scripture, and not within our culture. Our culture says losing weight, feeling good about yourself, loving yourself more, looking out for yourself, etc. are good things. That’s not how this word goodness is being defined here.
Continue reading, and the clarity of Paul’s use of goodness shines forth. The resolve to do good and exhibited through works because of the power of our faith from God is for the purpose of glorifying the Lord Jesus Christ! Specifically, this glorifies the Lord Jesus Christ and the grace that has been bestowed upon us. So, put it all together, and we must view New Year’s Resolutions as an opportunity to resolve in doing good for the purpose of showing off the power of God, through the grace we have received, and to the glory of Jesus Christ. However, beyond these resolutions, this ought to be the mission for our lives! As the Westminster Catechism puts it so well, “the chief end of man is to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever.”
This truth profoundly changes the way we think about resolutions! When we no longer view resolutions as a way to better ourselves, but instead as a way to display the glory of Jesus Christ, then we transform our minds. We root our resolves in the glory of God instead of ourselves. We show the world how we are a changed people, not because of our own strength and determination, but because of the power of God. So, whether you resolve to read the Bible in a year or lose several pounds, whether you resolve to pray more or watch TV less, whether you resolve to commit to church or drop a bad habit, do it all for the glory of the Lord. It’s not you who manufactures the change, but the Lord Jesus Christ who does a good work in you. This is true, everlasting change.