New Year's Resolutions: Will You Keep Yours This Year?

New Years resolutions are notorious for being broken; according to some statistic;s 40 – 45% of all Americans make one or more resolutions. Funnily enough, 30% of those resolutions are broken within the first week. Have you broken your resolution already? Are you asking yourself why they were broken? Or why did I struggle to keep to my resolutions?

If you go into the derivative of the word resolution, you get two terms: resolute and resolve. Both are defined as being firmly determined to do something. The question is: are you making New Years resolutions for the sake of making resolutions, or are you determined to make them a priority in your life? Looking back at your resolutions, can you begin to put a picture together of priorities in your life? The Bible actually has a few verses with the word resolve:

Daniel 1:8 “But Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine …” 

This verse points to a lifestyle choice, or lifestyle change, or not putting yourself in situations that compromise your lifestyle choices.

Psalms 17:3 “Though you probe my heart and examine me at night, 

though you test me, you will find nothing; I have resolved that my mouth will not sin” 

This verse points to a struggle most of us have, and I will be the first to admit it. Sinning with your mouth could be spreading gossip or rumors, belittling friends and neighbors, or even openly attacking people. How often do we use our words to break others down? While I don't think this means you can't ever tell someone the truth, even if it may hurt them at the time (after all, I think as Christians we are to be the Light for others, which may mean holding them accountable), I think we need to always check our motivations. When we speak, is it to lift others up and to help them? Or is it to lift ourselves up?

One curious point here is that the Bible uses the word resolve as something that is a conscious and firm decision to change; it is not a "wish" that you have for the way you want your life to be.

If you are going to make resolutions they should be pro-active, and illustrate to you what your priorities are in your life. Here are five Biblical passages that you could use to justify why you are committing to certain resolutions:

Colossians 3:13 “Bear each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have for one another. 

Forgive as the Lord forgave you.” 

This verse may seem simple, but I find it is also difficult. Why not make a resolution to release resentment and move toward forgiveness: forgiveness for wrongdoing, forgiveness for a family member,  forgiveness towards an unspeakable truth.

Matthew 25: 34-40 “The the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come you who are blessed by my father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry, and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me’. Then the righteous will answer him ‘Lord when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you as a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go visit you?’ The King will reply, ‘ I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’"

Another good thing to focus on this year is charity, doing the right thing,  and helping someone in need out. It is a paradox, but one sure fire way to make your life happier is to look outside of your own needs and help someone else with his.

I Corinthians 3:16 and 6:19-20

                3:16 “Don’t you know that yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s spirit lives in you?”

                6:19-20 ”Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy spirit who is in you whom you have received as your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore, honor God with your body.”

Exercise, diet, eating right, keeping healthy! How often have you made this resolution? Now, you can point to the Bible for the reason why you do it.

Matthew 14: 22-23 “Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd. After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. When evening came he was there alone.” 

This verse speaks to prayer life and increasing time praying to God. Again, this is one that is difficult for me, which is probably why I need to resolve to do this. I have a hard time finding quiet time, but I have an even harder time talking to God. I feel so unworthy at times, but the Bible makes it clear that it is a crucial part of any Christian's life.

Mark 12: 29-31 “The most important one” answered Jesus, ”is this: ’Hear O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no greater commandment than these.” 

This may very well be the theme of the Bible: love your God and love your neighbor. 

As you go about this week, think about how you can begin to do this in your life. How can you make 2011 the year that you grow in your walk with God? 

You Woke Me Up at What Time?! Really?!

I must confess something.

I hate to get up early in the morning. I am, and always have been, a night owl. My mother tells me stories of how I would stay up all night as an infant, just wide-eyed and staring at her. I am sure she was exhausted and begging me to sleep! Even now, I would rather stay up into the early hours of the morning and then sleep until noon. I never much minded it. I thought that it was my duty as a writer. After all, it was just my creative personality! I could write all night.

Until I met my husband.

He is one of those frustratingly cheerful morning people. He gets up at around 4:30-4:45 every morning. He likes to get to work early. He likes to work hard. Suddenly, I felt very lazy.

My husband and I have decided that we want to have a Biblical reason for everything we do (not an easy task, but we are trying). Of course, I thought my sleep patterns had nothing to do with my faith, but I looked anyway.

Here's what I found:

In Proverbs 31, God makes it clear what a “wife of noble character” looks like:

¹² She brings him good, not harm,
   all the days of her life.
¹³ She selects wool and flax
   and works with eager hands.
¹⁴ She is like the merchant ships,
   bringing her food from afar.
¹⁵ She gets up while it is still night;
   she provides food for her family
   and portions for her female servants.
¹⁶ She considers a field and buys it;
   out of her earnings she plants a vineyard.
¹⁷ She sets about her work vigorously;
   her arms are strong for her tasks.
¹⁸ She sees that her trading is profitable,
   and her lamp does not go out at night.

The character we should be striving for is one of eagerness to work (which means without hesitation or complaint). We are to work tirelessly, early in the morning until late at night. While this does apply to women, it also applies to men as well. After all, in the model Jesus gives us, the church is His bride; therefore, this could be a metaphor for the Christian lifestyle.

Jesus himself modeled this behavior, as seen in Mark 1:35:

³⁵ Very early in the morning, while it was still dark,

Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place,

where he prayed.

Jesus got up early in the morning. Perhaps He did this because He knew this was the only time He could find quiet time, or maybe He did this because He knew no one would bother Him. Whatever the reason, Jesus rose early in order to keep His priorities straight. Maybe this is the lesson. When we get up early in the morning and work all day long, we will stay on the intended path.

The Bible warns us to do this only for the right reasons (Isaiah 5:11):

¹¹ Woe to those who rise early in the morning

   to run after their drinks,
who stay up late at night
   till they are inflamed with wine.

And again, in Psalm 127:2:

² In vain you rise early
   and stay up late,
toiling for food to eat—
   for he grants sleep to those he loves.

The bottom line is this: we rise early and work hard because God wants us to. Ultimately, our work is futile; only God can provide what we need, but that does not give us license to be lazy, expecting to do nothing for the great reward we have been given. 

So, I am going to try this. Something new for 2011. Who knows? Maybe I'll find unexpected benefits to my new schedule. More time with God. More time with my husband. Less time feeling stressed because "I can't find enough time in my day."