Resolving to Dissolve Resolutions
Once again, the year has come and gone. Yesterday marked the start of 2022, and I have to say…I’ve never really understood the excitement that comes with New Year’s Eve parties and the like. I figure they are just an excuse to eat and drink more than you’re typically “allowed” to. Sure, it’s cool to be awake at the exact moment the clock strikes midnight, but then what? Go right home and hit the hay? It just doesn’t make much sense to me.
Another aspect I find a little pointless is New Year’s resolutions. Very rarely do they ever come to pass, and the added pressure of an arbitrary deadline (are you supposed to achieve said resolution by 2023, or just keep going until you hit your goal?) doesn’t help. I think it’s a noble pursuit to constantly try and be better than you were the day before. Why do we feel the need to exclaim our intentions to people who, quite frankly, probably don’t care?
Who are we trying to impress? Ourselves? Our family? Our friends? What about God, the one entity whose opinion really matters? I’m not a fan of this culture of ours that constantly tries to (falsely) remind us we aren’t good enough. Everywhere we turn our attention, we are bombarded by images of those who are better looking than us, make more money than us, or are seemingly happier than we are.
Any time I overhear someone talking about getting (voluntary) plastic surgery, it makes my heart hurt. Now, this could be because I’m quite young and haven’t gotten any prominent wrinkles or grey hair yet, but I’ve always had the understanding that God made us the way we are for a reason. Human beings age – there’s nothing we can do about that. Not only that, how we look on the outside is nowhere near as important as the look of our character. In 1 Samuel 16:7, God says to Samuel, “‘Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.’”
So why are we always so fixated on change? By no means am I saying having measurable goals is a bad thing. We can desire to eat better than we normally do for our health. We can work to save up for a trip we’ve been dying to go on to see more of God’s green Earth than just our backyard. We can aim to read just a quarter of the Bible in a year instead of the entire thing so we can delve deeper into God’s word instead of rushing through just to say we made it through thousands of pages (if you didn’t absorb the richness of the text, did you really read the book?).
If you’re a Christian, you should be living every day as if you were a new person; for “if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come” (2 Corinthians 5:17). We don’t have to limit ourselves to a holiday tradition someone made up to make themselves feel better. We shouldn’t be “conformed to this world,” but we should “be transformed by the renewal of [our] mind, that by testing [we] may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect” (Romans 12:2).
We should continue to take every day as it comes. Let’s do away with the “new year, new me” social media photo caption. Just because the calendar exists doesn’t mean we should let it dictate the pace at which we become a better, wiser, stronger person. In 2022, I’m resolving to continue to take the steps I need to become like David – a (wo)man after God’s own heart (Acts 13:22). The Lord won’t be disappointed in me if I fail this year, next year, or even five years from now. He made me and knows I’m human and will undoubtably make mistakes. What matters is that you are willing to get back up and pursue the path He’s set before you. Now, will you answer His call to do the extraordinary instead of resolving to accomplish something arbitrary?
