Resolutions

Download Video HERE

It’s February, which means for a lot of us it’s about that time of year when all of our New Year's resolutions are abandoned and forgotten. We stopped going to the gym weeks ago, cooking every night in order to eat healthy was taking too much time, and Netflix came out with a new TV show to binge instead of reading that one book a month we promised. And what was that word of the year thing again? I think it was confidence, or commitment, or honesty…

Why do we set aside time at the beginning of the year to set goals and make resolutions?

Often, when we set goals and make resolutions for ourselves, it is to help us become the person we want to become. We see our own faults and the things we don’t like about ourselves and try to grow. Maybe we want to correct a bad habit, or maybe we want to develop a good habit. I think we set aside time at the beginning of the year for this because we truly want to grow—to become better. Some deep part of our being knows the kind of person God is calling us to be and strives to become that person. It’s a step by step process—we grow one step at a time, not all at once. That’s why we set goals. That’s why we make resolutions.

So why do we abandon these goals and resolutions so quickly?

It’s difficult. It really is. If the goals and resolutions we make are good for us, if they truly help us become a better person, then they are guaranteed to take time. And work. And sacrifice. We may know what it takes to become physically healthier. We know how to become more responsible stewards of the money we earn. We know what a healthy balance of our time looks like. We know which spiritual disciplines we need to work on to grow spiritually. However, we come up with all sorts of (legitimate)excuses and reasons not to do those things:

Cooking takes too long and doritos are so much more delicious.

I don’t have the extra time to work out regularly...I’ll just fit it in when I can.

I know I should save this money, but I really really need a massage.

I haven’t seen or talked to my friends in a while, but I’m just so drained after work.

I don’t have the time or attention span to read my Bible, meditate, or pray for very long.

I’ve lived that life, I know those excuses (ok-maybe not the massage one). When it comes to personal growth of any sort, we often get in our own way. Just because the path we choose is difficult and we can come up with all sorts of good excuses doesn’t mean we should give up. We were made to grow, to become the best versions of ourselves that we can be. It takes commitment, intention, and sacrifice. It takes openness and support from our families and friends, because we could never really do this kind of thing on our own. Most importantly, It takes dependence on God, the true source of our strength. 

I know keeping the goals and resolutions we set is difficult. Sometimes we fail. Sometimes we fall down, and the last thing we want to do is to get back up again. However, if we truly believe that those goals and resolutions will help us to become better people, shouldn’t we commit to them with everything we have? Growth can come from our failures—from those times we fall—but only if we get back up, lean on the grace and strength of God, and try again.