It's the time of year in which we resolve to change our lives, whether it be to lose 15 pounds or spend more time with our family. We are feckless creatures, who tend to bob aimlessly in the waters of responsibility like a toy sailboat, until a brisk wind propels the sails. The immediate, common sense-based problem is that control is placed solely with us, no matter if we have an accountability partner. The success of the resolution is predicated on the fidelity to one's sense of responsibility. In fact, until we give up control, until we reconcile that change does not come from our own willpower but from people and circumstances that the Lord places in our lives, only then will we be successful in all of our endeavors.
Pastors and other authorities in my Baptist upbringing will call this realization "surrendering to the Lord," and while I agree to a certain extent, the word "surrender" implies a lack of autonomy, which, I guess, is the point. I argue, however, that this surrender, one that makes New Year's resolutions moot, demands willful decision. Certainly, it is our decision and ours alone, whether we follow Jesus or not. The effectiveness of this argument is contingent on one's belief in "free will," which is confusing as a simple believer with no seminary education. However, the way I conceptualize it is that "free will" is a duality of control and no control. I have heard and read that the first step in coming to Jesus is surrendering to his power, but that seems far too simple, because it undercuts free will. Whomever we meet or whatever situation we are confronted with is surely the work of the Lord, but our reactions to these factors are rooted in informed volition.
Our informed vision comes from the content and the context of the Bible, we cannot properly function as Christians in our day-to-day lives if we don't read and study the Bible. You cannot and should not read without studying the Bible, because we forget that it is not a traditional linear text in the sense that it made up of 66 books that span centuries. Within the scope of this text, it is an evolving piece of literature. The Bible is confusing. (At least to me. The book of Numbers, anyone?)
So, what does all of this mean with regard to New Year's resolutions? Christian living seems to be conducive to only one type of resolution: to live a principled life and to ask that the Lord's will be done in all circumstances. There is a certain prideful implication in secular New Year's Resolutions, because the prevailing notion is that YOU and YOU alone can complete a life change. God does not enter the equation. I can't blame non-Christians for making secular resolution based on this premise. How can I hold people to a standard when they don't adhere to the basic tenants of Christianity or have not heard of Jesus? It's unfair.
With the New Year here and thriving, I leave with what our cry for the new year should be based in what Paul told the Thessalonians with the hope that you will be encouraged:
Acknowledge those who work hard among you, who care for you in the Lord and who admonish you. Hold them in the highest regard in love because of their work. Live in peace with each other. And we urge you, brothers and sisters, warn those who are idle and disruptive, encourage the disheartened, help the weak, be patient with everyone. Make sure nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but strive to do what is good for each other and everyone else. Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus
(1 Thess. 5: 12-18).
