Christmas is over and now it is time to think about New Year resolutions.

 Many ancient traditions celebrate the beginning of a New Year with an emphasis on renewal or re-birth, but the New Year’s resolution as a means of self-improvement may be uniquely American. New Year resolutions are most likely a legacy from our Protestant forefathers. Originally, the tradition had a religious attitude, but now we celebrate a more secularized version of the original tradition. Early Protestantism emphasized hard work and the denial of worldly pleasure. They believed material wealth and worldly success were favors from God.

Our secular New Year’s resolutions may have its roots in ‘watch night services’. Watch night services were made popular by the Methodist church in the 18^th century in England as a way of ringing in the New Year in a more spiritual way as opposed to partying all night.

The services were a chance to reflect on the past year and make spiritual resolutions for the coming year. The practice spread to other denominations and the resolutions began to reflect Protestant ideals like emotional and physical restraint in the face of life’s indulgences.

Only countries with an English-speaking, Protestant background like Australia, England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and South Africa, had a strong tradition of making Spiritual New Year’s resolutions, while other countries did not.

Exactly when secularized New Year’s resolutions came to be popular, or whether they originated in England or the United States is unknown. Secular New Year’s Resolutions do not tend to take on a religious nature, instead they are more about things like losing weight, going to the gym, walking or running, spend less save more, enjoy life more, stop smoking, spend more time with family, take a course, fall in love, etc. Resolutions tend to reflect attitudes trending in society at the time.

There is no difference between December 31 and January 1. Nothing mystical occurs at midnight on December 31. The Bible does not speak for or against the concept of New Year’s resolutions. But, there is something about the start of a new year that gives us the feeling of a fresh start and a new beginning.

Christian New Year’s resolutions should include: to read the Bible every day, to attend church more regularly, to be more charitable, to be more forgiving, to be more loving. These are all fantastic goals for Christians. However, these New Year’s resolutions fail just as often as the non-spiritual resolutions, because there is no power in a New Year’s resolution. Resolving to start or stop doing a certain activity has no value, unless you have the proper motivation for stopping or starting that activity. For example, why do you want to read the Bible every day? Is it to honor God and grow spiritually, or is it because you have just heard that it is a good thing to do? Why do you want to lose weight? Is it to honor God with your body, or is it for vanity, to honor yourself?

What should Christians do in preparation before making New Year resolutions: (1) pray to the Lord for wisdom in regards to what resolutions, if any, He would have you make; (2) pray for wisdom as to how to fulfill the goals God gives you; (3) determine to rely on God’s strength to help you; (4) find an accountability partner who will help you and encourage you; (5) make a decision not to become discouraged with occasional failures and (6) be prepared to share the success with God.

If God is the center of your New Year’s resolution, it has a chance for success, depending on your commitment to it. If it is God’s will for something to be fulfilled, He will enable you to fulfill it. If a resolution is not God honoring and/or is not in agreement in God’s Word, we will not receive God’s help in fulfilling the resolution.

I think good New Year’s resolution focus on you and others and do not exclude either.  

Major organizations that are successful at least annually evaluate themselves. They look at where they are strong. They look at where they are weak. Why would individual not do the same? After evaluating yourself you can make healthy resolutions. A resolution is really nothing more than a goal.

After evaluation and making a resolution you are not finished in fact, you have just begun. Diligence and patients is required to succeed. Success lies in committing yourself to your resolution until you accomplish it. Lots of people have hopes for keeping their resolutions, but only about 40% do. The others are not patient and diligent enough to follow through.

You now know the process to get started and to follow through, but I must warn you ‘free will’ is a real demon. Nothing good comes easy. With God’s help you can select the proper resolutions and keep it and when December 2016 rolls around you will find your life is better for it.