Keep Those Resolutions!

Small considerations frequently prevent people from making very important changes.

This truth has been circling in my mind since the New Year began four days ago. Annually, people resolve to do some very important things—the top five or so changes that they want to make in their lives—and almost always abandon them during the course of the year. Statistically, New Year’s resolutions have a short life span.

A study completed recently affirms the truth we all sense. Our bad habits are woven into patterns of behavior. The bad habits give us instant gratification while doing the right thing pays off only in the long run.

Take for instance all those who have resolved to lose weight this year by implementing new exercise regimens and new eating habits. For some, these lifestyle changes have become life-and-death matters. Yet they are likely to abandon these practices in the short term.

Health issues often prompt our new resolutions, but spiritual issues are also at the top of our lists. We resolve to attend worship each Sunday. We resolve to read our Bibles and pray daily. We resolve to give regularly and generously to our church. We resolve to get involved in helping the less fortunate.

These resolutions, too, are at high risk. The new toys we think we need compete with our charitable contributions. The rush of our morning schedule, promoted by hitting the snooze button repeatedly, interrupts new devotional regimens. Those extra minutes in bed on Sunday morning loom large when the alarm goes off.

Someone celebrated yesterday that they had made it through three days of daily Bible readings. I think we must do this. We must celebrate the small victories of our new intentions because the small considerations are the things that stall us, thwart us, and stop us.

My understanding of a holy life comes into play here. I am wondering if you and I can really overcome the desires of the flesh—more sleep, unhealthy food, higher tech toys—by just willing to do so. Is our will strong enough? We all consistently underestimate the power of temptation. We walk into a situation that compromises our good intentions expecting that we shall have the will power to say no. And we stumble and fall.

Holiness begins with a focus on God, not laws or rules. If faithfulness to God prompts us to make lifestyle changes, then we have a good beginning for true transformation. Our faith is powerful and will give us strength to maintain our commitments.

We need to help one another in making these changes. Friends and family members who respect and support our good intentions are less likely to parade the chocolate and ice cream through the den when NCIS comes on TV. If our friends are always dragging us back into destructive behaviors we may need to find some new ones. We are much more likely to secure the new life we hope for when our support group is cheering us on, not ridiculing and undermining us.

And we need to make the little changes that support our new directions. Discipline and will power must be at work from the moment we start our day, not just at the breaking point. Place new items on your nightstand. Change the sound of your alarm. Purge your refrigerator and stop purchasing “for friends” the food you should not eat. Set up automatic drafts for the charities you want to support. Leave the credit cards at home. Pack a lunch.

We establish new goals—or new commitments to old goals—at the beginning of each New Year. We are more likely to achieve these lifestyle changes if our goals are faith-based, supported by friends and family, and facilitated by a full array of small tweaks in our busy lives.