Pulpit Magazine

(By Nathan Busenitz)

Well…it’s New Year’s Day. And we all know what that means. It’s time to take an inventory of how we lived in 2006 and think through some much needed changes for 2007. In other words, it’s time to make a list of New Year’s resolutions.

Many of our lists will be necessarily long; many will involve a bit of wishful thinking; and most, if not all, will include some recycled resolutions that weren’t kept last year. But whatever the specifics, everyone agrees on a few key facts: the ball has dropped, last year is history, and the future is brimming with possibility.

From losing weight to saving money, Americans traditionally associate New Year’s Day with sobering up (not only from the parties the night before) but also from the disappointments and distractions of the previous 365 and ¼ days. For those who were too busy, it’s time to start enjoying life. For those who were too lazy, it’s time to get organized or learn something new. And for those who were too self-indulgent, it’s time to lose weight or get out of debt.

Even a quick glance at a typical “Top Ten New Year’s Resolutions” is enough to see that it contains no major surprises. As expected, the things our world values most—such as finances, fitness, family, friends, and food—consistently top the list of popular self-made promises.

Here’s the “Top Ten” list I found:

1) Spend More Time with Family & Friends 2) Fit in Fitness

3) Tame the Bulge [Lose Weight]

4) Quit Smoking

5) Enjoy Life More

6) Quit Drinking

7) Get Out of Debt

Learn Something New

9) Help Others

10) Get Organized

To be sure, the ten items on this list are admirable goals. There’s certainly nothing wrong with scheduling regular physical exercise or achieving financially stability. I, for one, hope to get more organized this next year.

But shouldn’t there be something more to the resolutions we make as Christians? I certainly think so.

Why? Well, for starters, our purpose on this earth is totally different. While those in the world discipline themselves for physical gain, we are to discipline ourselves for godliness (1 Tim. 4:7–8). While they relegate sobriety to a designated driver, we are to be constantly sober in spirit for the purpose of prayer (1 Pet. 4:7). While they pursue the various lusts of this passing age (1 John 2:16–17), we are to pursue holiness, in keeping with our holy calling (1 Thess. 4:7). They have a temporal perspective, we are to have an eternal one; they live for their own personal success, we are to live for God’s glory (1 Cor. 10:31); they conduct themselves however they see fit, we are to love God and keep His commandments (Mark 12:30).

From our allegiance to our attitudes to our actions—we are totally different than the world around us…or at least we’re supposed to be. That’s why Peter calls us “aliens and strangers” (1 Pet. 2:11) sojourners in this foreign land called earth (cf. Heb. 11:13).

So as you make your New Year’s resolutions for 2007, don’t be content with merely planning to drop a few pounds or save a few pennies. Instead remember that, as a believer, to live is Christ (Php. 2:21) and to follow Him is to deny yourself and daily take up your cross (Mark 8:34). He is to be the supreme object of all our aims and affections. He is the One we are to please; He is the One we are to praise; and He is the One we are to pursue. Everything else, in comparison, is nothing more than rubbish (cf. Php. 3:7–8).

May our resolutions this year be far more than worthless, temporal rubbish, as we remember who we are in Christ and commit ourselves to act accordingly.

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