Resolutions

     Beginning a new year always makes me think about making resolutions.  People have different ideas about resolutions.  Some people dismiss them as nonsense.  Others make a list of impossible things.  Still others use them as a driving force to make real change in their lives.  I look at resolutions as goals.  I have a half marathon coming up, so one of my resolutions or goals is to run a half marathon faster than ever before.   Other resolutions I have are to read through the Bible and declutter my house this year.

      I think a mistake that many people make with resolutions and in goals in general is thinking that they are all or nothing.  For example, some people have a goal to work out a certain number of days a week.  At the beginning of the year, they hit it hard, but if they have a setback and skip a week at the gym, then they see this as failure and just quit going at all.  They could have success if they would just keep working at it.  For many years, I vowed each new year to lose my baby weight.  I would go on a crash diet and starve myself, but after a week or two, I became discouraged and just gave up.  I eventually lost the weight but it took patience and time, making small life style changes over a course of three years.  A few years ago, my resolution was to read the Bible in a year.  I wasn’t able to read it in a year; it took me closer to a year and a half, but I didn’t give up and quit.  I still received a blessing from God by reading his Holy book. 

     We are imperfect people, and living a Christian life will have setbacks.  We should not, however, get into the all or nothing mentality.  If you give up drugs, cigarettes, or alcohol and stumble, get right back up, confess your sins to God, and get back on your program.  If you miss a day of Bible reading or prayer, get right back on the path.  If you are bitter, spiteful, prideful, or unforgiving, confess these sins to God and recommit to a Christ filled life.

     In Phillipians 3:12-16, the Bible says, “I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.  Let all who are spiritually mature agree on these things. If you disagree on some point, I believe God will make it plain to you.  But we must hold on to the progress we have already made.”

    I love this chapter in Phillipians.  When we stumble and give up, we are not holding on to our progress.  When we make mistakes, we must keep going.  If I quit running, but returned to it in a few weeks, I might lose a little fitness, but I would quickly be able to reach the point that I was at before and could soon even surpass it.  If, however, I quit running for a few months, I would soon barely be able to run at all.  It would take a long time for me to get back to where I was.  Our Christian lives are the same; a minor setback should not cause us to give up.  That stumbling block can become a stepping stone for us to continue our race for God.