Young Adults
Are We Resolved?
by: David Petrak - :transit: resolutionary
New Year’s Resolutions...
I’ve never made them.
I thought that I was too lazy to take the time to think through them, that I was afraid of failing to keep them and the consequences that would have on my self-esteem, that I was too proud and often preoccupied with my ideal image that I disliked the idea of a less-than ideal reality, that I’ve often associated resolution-making with the acts of "swearing" or "vowing," and the list goes on...
In other words, to quote from Lord Henry in Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray, resolutions in my opinion were simply “useless attempts to interfere with scientific laws” and I believed “their result is absolutely nil.”
If instead we dispense with the "New Year’s" part, then what we have is a decidedly Christian virtue. The word "resolution," by itself, means a firm and settled decision to change (or not change) something.
We find many examples of this in the Scriptures (Josh. 24:15, Ruth 1:16-17, Ps. 119:57, Dan. 1:8, I Cor. 8:13, 2 Cor. 5:9, Phil. 3:10, etc.). And if we are honest with ourselves, we all have a resolution. In fact, we may have a new resolution every day.
Although fundamentally Biblical, we may still be deterred from making resolutions because of the unlikely odds of success. 4 out of 5 New Year’s resolutions fail within 6 months.
Despite the odds of complete success, however, resolving is usually better than not. Resolvers are much more likely to at least make small improvements compared to non-resolution makers. For example, the individual who resolves to finally lose 50 pounds before the end of the year may fail to lose that exact weight, but probably will still lose a few pounds.
The sheer act of making a resolution, although not sufficiently motivating by itself, does lay a foundation for future improvements.
As Christians, we have the unique and special advantage of God’s help through the Holy Spirit.
When Jonathan Edwards made his resolutions, he prefaced them with, “Being sensible that I am unable to do anything without God’s help, I do humbly entreat Him by His grace to enable me to keep these resolutions, so far as they are agreeable to His will, for Christ’s sake.”
The Holy Spirit that indwells every believer in Jesus Christ is far greater than “willpower,” which psychologists argue is needed to make resolutions stick.
Sure, a certain degree of willpower or self-discipline is needed to follow through with a resolution, but it should never preclude God’s grace in the “will and working” of them (Phil. 2:13, cf. Col. 1:29). And so when our culture ignores this fundamental aspect, we should not be surprised that 4 out of every 5 fail to successfully resolve their resolutions.
The benefits we possess as children of God
I would like to point out a few ways in which God’s grace through the working of the Holy Spirit in us helps us to make and resolve our resolutions, and then use Edwards’ resolutions as a starting point for this year’s resolutions.
1) We have the mind of Christ (2 Cor. 2:29).
When we turn to Jesus in faith, every aspect of our personality is transformed including those cognitive-behavioral processes that psychologists find most effectively used by successful resolvers (J.C. Norcross et. al, 2002). By cognitive-behavioral processes, they mean the emotional and behavioral responses to life situations. I do not have any strong scientific data to support this, although a recently published book suggests so (1), but when an individual has turned to Jesus it will affect his or her interests, feelings, affections, and purposes. As a result, their cognition will change into making plans, goals, or resolutions that are, as Edwards writes, “for Christ’s sake.”
2) Support and encouragement of our brothers and sisters in Christ.
One recent survey showed that successful resolvers found encouragement by making resolutions public. As Christians we receive encouragement in many public ways; prayers, group bible studies, daily devotions with a friend, listening to God’s Word preached, ministries at our local churches. In addition to being encouraged, we can also form accountability-buddies within these public spheres to help keep us in stride along the way.
3) The gifts of the Holy Spirit.
All of us as Christians are uniquely gifted by the Holy Spirit. As we grow and this gift becomes increasingly manifest to us we will have a clearer idea on what our resolutions should be. This will guard us from making unrealistic or too many resolutions that lead to burn-out.
4) The groanings and/or prayers of the Holy Spirit (Rom. 8:28).
5) The character of God, namely His faithfulness towards His people (I Thess. 5:24, 2 Cor. 1:18, etc).
An example to follow
We should therefore be encouraged to participate in the cultural tradition of making New Year’s resolutions. Our aim in this should be to glorify Jesus Christ in any area of life.
Jonathan Edwards had resolutions in the following areas: overall life mission, good works, time management, relationships, suffering, character, assurance in the love of God, prayer, reading the Scriptures, the Lord’s Day, mortification of sin and self-examination, and communion with God.
They are easily accessible through the Internet but here is one that essentially summarizes all of them:
“Resolved, that I will do whatsoever I think to be most to God’s glory, and my own good, profit, and pleasure, in the whole of my duration, etc.”
Using this as his foundation, Edwards would form a new resolution whenever something in his life challenged this notion. For instance, when he found himself doubting God in prayer he resolved, “never to count that a prayer, nor to let that pass as a prayer, nor that as a petition of a prayer, which is so made, that I cannot hope that God will answer it; nor that as a confession, which I cannot hope God will accept.”
This habit of his, as George Marsdsen writes in his biography on Edwards, was “directed toward plugging every gap that would allow distraction from what he saw as his only worthy activity, to glorify God. (2)” And its significance was tremendous in shaping the character of one of America’s greatest evangelists who continues to be an example to countless Christians across the world.
At Parkside Church, we’ve been encouraged to adopt a Bible reading plan.
One plan that I’ve seen work with many involves only the New Testament and Psalms or Proverbs. I’ve found this to be especially helpful in maintaining God in the forefront of my consciousness.
So if you’re like me and have always avoided the culturally-sanctioned practice of making resolutions on New Year’s Day, may you be encouraged by this blog to begin! Remember, the goal is to glorify God and more importantly it’s only by His help that you can resolve!
1. Robert Mall. What Your Body Knows About God: How we are designed to Connect, Serve, and Thrive. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 2014.
2. George Marsden. Jonathan Edwards: A Life. Harrisonburg, Virginia: R.R. Donnelly and Sons, 2003.