Do New Year Resolutions Resolve Anything?

Exactly what worth are New Year resolutions to Christians?

Khen Lim

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Quite amazingly, it was the ancient Babylonians who came up with the idea of making New Year resolutions. That means we have a history of about 3,000 years to look back to. It was therefore the Babylonians who felt that there was something to look forward to at the beginning of each brand new year. Like a fresh new start, a way to not look back, an exciting new chapter. Or the shiny promise of a new beginning.

But as someone prosaic would ask, what’s the difference between December 31 and January 1? It’s just another day. When the final hour rolls into a brand new one, life remains the same. We trundle forward but yesterday doesn’t seem any different from today. It’s not as if we suddenly turn into superheroes or that all our debts would vanish like spontaneous combustion.

Furthermore nothing mystical ever takes place when the clock strikes midnight and usher in the New Year. We may have a night sky filled with brilliant fireworks. We’re sure to charge and clink a few glasses of sparkly and hug and kiss whoever is in our presence. There’s also the customary countdown where everyone in the streets and in all the parties held worldwide would do so together in a single chorus while staring down the clock. However none of these hold special magical or supernatural powers, other than people finding excuses to get stone drunk followed by bad hangovers and headaches the following morning.

Scripture says absolutely nothing about celebrating the New Year or making resolutions. The concept of doing either does not appear to hold any importance in the Bible. It is therefore not incorrect to say that God doesn’t think it is of any significance to Him. But what would we say to a Christian who is set on making a New Year resolution? What kinds of resolution should we encourage him or her to make? And why are these questions even important to begin with?

The popular resolutions that people often make for the New Year are wide and varied, and can be said to be basically noble. People make amends to quit smoking or drinking, stop gambling, be more frugal minded or make vows to spend more quality time with their family or even try to be a better spouse or parent. The more sanguine ones want to lose weight, eat more healthily, exercise more or regain some self-esteem.

None of these, as I said, are bad but Paul in his letter to Timothy asks us to put exercise into proper perspective, saying, “For physical training is of some value but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come” (1 Tim 4:8). Perhaps we can consider the ‘physical’ aspect of this verse to remind us of the ‘physical things’ that make up a majority of all the New Year resolutions that we, including Christians, entrusts ourselves with. Alas it should not be this way!

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In contrast, Christians can make New Year resolutions resonate a little differently. This is not to say that normal resolutions are unacceptable but more so, we can raise the level of significance to that, which means much more to God. We should then look to a New Year where we can pray more (and more earnestly), read the Word of God with greater diligence and heartfelt purpose, attend church more regularly and have a sincere volunteer’s heart to be of serious service to Christ. Now, these would be remarkable goals, albeit goals that should be more familiar to Christians.

Yet even these resolutions fall by the wayside just like the non-spiritual ones because they too carry no power. As New Year resolutions go, there is neither mystical nor supernatural empowerment. In other words, resolving to begin a new activity or engaging in a different habit possesses no value beyond mere words on paper unless there is that incentive to carry them out. A nicotine-stained smoker can announce to the whole world he is ditching the habit and he can even do that every year because words have no effect other than to sound impressive. I know that for a fact because I was once a smoker.

As an example, why not ask yourself why you want to read the Bible every day. Is it because you heard it’s an exciting book worth reading? Is it because it’s been on the bestseller list for the last 500 years? Or is it because you want to honour God and grow spiritually? Conversely why would you want to lose weight? Is it because you desperate want to gain acceptance by your bullies? Or is it because you are inspired by the models that appear on all the girlie magazines? Do you do it because you are zealous about self-respect or is it because you want to honour God by looking after your physical body?

In his letter to the church in Philippi, Paul wrote, “I can do everything through Him who gives me strength” (Php 4:13). In the Gospel of John, Jesus says, “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in Me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from Me, you can do nothing” (Jn 15:5).

These two verses are a stark counterbalance to the secular idea that resolutions are what we do on our own, using our own steam. They remind us that no matter what we think, we are powerless to make amends because without Christ, there is no strength in what we do. Without Christ, we bear no worthwhile fruit (if at all). Remember, “Apart from Me,” Jesus says, “you can do nothing” (ibid).

When we centre our New Year resolutions on Christ alone, our chances of success are greatly bolstered so long as we remain committed to change and provided it is in God’s will that your resolution is fulfilled. When that happens, He will make it all possible in his own unique way. On the other hand if the resolution don’t bring glory to Him or is something that is incongruent with His Word, there is unlikely to be any help coming from Him. You are on your own and whether or not you succeed in your quest, God has nothing to do with it and He will have no bar of it as well.

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So we come back to the question again – what resolutions should Christians commit themselves to for the New Year? Maybe I can humbly suggest some ideas for you:

Firstly if you are bereft of ideas yourself, pray to God for wisdom (Jms 1:5) and ask Him for the kinds of resolution He would prefer us to commit to. He should be the architect of change that we desire to work for us because He and no one else knew us even before we were formed in the womb (Jer 1:5).

Secondly give God a chance to help you fulfil the goals. Ask for His hand in accomplishing it. Seek the Holy Spirit every day to help steer you in the right direction. Paul says in his letter to the Ephesians, “Now glory be to God, who by His mighty power at work within us is able to do far more than we would ever dare to ask or even dream of – infinitely beyond our highest prayers, desires, thoughts or hopes” (Eph 3:20).

Thirdly trust not in your own but in God’s strength (2 Cor 1:9) because with our sins, we can never achieve anything worthwhile on our own. In contrast, the secular world is hell-bent in enforcing the idea that we are our own man, we are capable of great things and like demigods, we can reinvent them. Nothing is further from the truth!

Remember Isaiah who said, “Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help, who rely on horses, who trust in the multitude of their chariots and in the great strength of their horsemen, but do not look to the Holy One of Israel, or seek help from the Lord” (Isa 31:1). Psalm 20:7 reinforces that: “Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the Name of the Lord our God.”

Fourthly find someone, preferably a fellow church member, who can help you along, keep you on track, encourage you and make sure you can be held accountable, someone who shares your desire to see you change for the better and who loves to see you give glory to God for the actions you take. Choose wisely though – avoid those who have little understanding of what you wish to achieve and why.

Fifthly remind yourself that in keeping your resolution, a stony rough road might be ahead on which you could stumble and fall and where you are tempted to give up because it all seems ‘too difficult.’ Occasional failures are not to be unexpected (Jn 16:33) and God never promised that. The wholesale deception that obedience will automatically lead to material prosperity has long been a false promise that many megachurch evangelists preach. Rather than allow temporary setbacks to derail us, use God’s Word to undergird us and seek Christ’s promises to motivate us.

Lastly stay humble and be firmly grounded in the Word. Don’t drown yourself in false pride and never assume that Frank Sinatra was correct when he sang, “I did it my way.” It never was and it never will be. Instead be mindful that God was always there and if you have trusted Him all the way, then you will also know that His hand has ensured your success. So ditch the vanity and offer God His glory for the good work you have achieved.

The psalmist tells us to “Commit your way to the Lord; trust in Him and He will do this: He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun” (Ps 37:5-6).