The Problem With New Year's Resolutions

It’s time to rethink New Year’s Resolutions!

And it’s not just because I failed the ones I made last year. Well, I think I failed them because… I don’t remember what they were!

What do all New Year’s Resolutions have in common?

Some are about getting healthy. Others are designed to help us get financially sound. A handful might increase our religious devotion.

But what’s the common denominator?

They’re all designed to make ME and MY LIFE better. It’s a kind of self-help. It’s ironic: to start the year off with a bang, we encourage one another to focus more on ourselves.

When someone asks, “What’s your New Year’s Resolution?” I’m afraid I hear, “How are you going to improve yourself?” What, are you saying I’m overweight?

Here’s a twist: I’m not opposed to self-help!

I think it is good stewardship to develop our capacities. I’m excited to see my friends make plans to be healthy, make wise financial decisions, and read the Bible every day.

But when self-help is the ultimate category, we’re orbiting around the wrong star.

I want to suggest that self-help doesn’t end up helping, even if you succeed.

Let’s say you’re disciplined. So you make a resolution - and you reach it!

Which is good, except that after all that hard work, you can’t help but be proud of how you pulled yourself up by your bootstraps. And the cost for pride is significantly higher than you expected. The successful can feel pressured to keep their performance up. And they’re often terrified of losing what they’ve achieved.

Or you’ll fail and risk self-loathing. Fell off my diet once again. Overspent… again. I didn’t read my Bible… ugh, I’m a week behind on my plan. Our good intentions congeal into a nasty mix of guilt and shame. We settle for average. We doubt that we’ll get better.

So I want to commend to you a different approach. The example that Mary sets for us in Luke 1.

We recently read the story for Christmas. An angel appears to announce the start of a New Year. In fact, every year is now marked in reference to that year!

And what is Mary’s New Year's resolution?

“See, I am the Lord’s servant,” said Mary. “May it happen to me as you have said” (Luke 1:38).

I see Mary sharing two profound secrets.

The first is a question of identity. Who are we? Whose are we?

Mary saw herself as the Lord’s servant. It was not a self-made identity. Instead, she gained both dignity and purpose by defining herself in reference to God.

The second is a question of authority. Who decides the direction of our lives?

New Year’s Resolutions say that I decide. I might pray about it, but the final decision is mine.

Mary responded to God’s revelation in faith. She saw what God asked of her — and she said yes.

If you’ll start this year saying, “See, I am the Lord’s servant. May it happen to me as you have said” then I think you’ll be on the better path.

As you hear and respond to God’s word, you’ll experience his love, his grace, and his truth. The Holy Spirit will work in your heart, stirring up a greater desire to love God and love your neighbor.

You might also get in better shape, spend less, and find a new job too. I don’t know, but if you do, you can receive those developments as a gift rather than as an achievement.

What will it be?

Are you going to author your own story this year? Or will you join the Story that God is inviting you into?