Developing Christian New Year's Resolutions

"Today's Devotion" for January 3, 2006

Read: II Peter 1:5-11
James 2:13-18

DEVELOPING CHRISTIAN NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTIONS

"For this reason make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and brotherly kindness, love." (II Pet.1:5-7)

Have you made any New Year's resolutions? I remember doing so some years ago, but finding it to be an exercise in futility - I just couldn't seem to get focused on them. I guess, as so many often put it, I just don't have the necessary discipline to keep my promises to myself. I can't tell you how many times I've resolved to accomplish something, or do something different, or change my behavior or anything else in my life and found myself failing to meet the new standards I'd set for myself. While we're discussing New Year's resolutions, this is also true of a whole lot of other "resolutions" I've made to myself.

Over the past week we've been inundated with talk about New Year's resolutions. Newspaper columnists have written commentaries about their own successes and failures regarding their own previous year's resolutions. Those same folks have presumed to dissect the successes or failures of public figures, particularly politicians, and most especially the President of the United States - purely from their own perceptions and perspectives on events and ideas. They've even presumed to develop sets of "New Year's Resolutions" for others, especially politicians (the President being foremost). After looking at the failure of so many New Year's resolutions made at the start of 2005, it seems that New Year's resolutions are just so many exercises in futility.

Certainly it's not a terrible thing to make New Year's resolutions. It's good to consider the things each of us needs to improve upon in our lives. The question is, "What kinds of resolutions should we make for ourselves, and what does God have to say about such things for our lives?

There's a classic experiment in self-improvement - what we might describe as the essence of New Year's resolutions - that comes down to us from that sage old founding father, Benjamin Franklin. Besides developing "Franklin Planners" (:>), good old Ben Franklin was determined to improve his life and character. After careful consideration of the issue, old Ben determined that there were seven virtues that were commonly accepted by everyone as being desirable in a godly, cultured person and good citizen. With the determination borne of intellectual prowess, determined self-interest, and a creativity that had discovered electricity and invented the Franklin stove, Ben Franklin set about improving himself. He mapped out a plan of action that seemed reasonable and attainable to him and set about developing each virtue in himself, a week at a time. Yet, despite his tremendous determination and intellectual ability he abandoned his self-improvement project after only a few weeks. According to old Ben himself, his idea wasn't as good as it appeared on paper, for he found himself moving along, seemingly mastering a virtue, and then, when he moved on to the next, the previous one he thought he'd mastered began to slip. His resolve wavered - the experiment was over.

What Mr. Franklin discovered (although it doesn't appear that he understood the discovery) is that trying to overcome the consequences of Sin in our lives is futile on our own. When we fail to acknowledge that our poor behavior and inability to resolve and reform our lives and actions is the result of a sinful nature, we continue to "fool" ourselves into making all sorts of grandiose attempts at "self-improvement" intended to lead us to perfection. In fact, one of the most pernicious and persistent false teachings that affect our spiritual lives is that we can do things to be better people and earn God's pleasure and heaven.

Peter is warning us against such false teachings and ideas in our reading for today. He reminds us that our faith in Christ and our knowledge of Him needs to be continually growing. Only God's Word and Spirit can accomplish that in us. No amount of personal discipline, determination, or virtuous striving after "perfection" is going to accomplish that end. It's also important to acknowledge that we are in need of continual growth in faith and faithful living - we never truly "arrive" at that destination this side of eternal life.

Does this mean we shouldn't make resolutions to "improve ourselves?" No. What it does mean is that the resolutions we want to make are those which focus on are those things which God determines are important to our relationship with Him. Rather than listening to the so-called "self-improvement gurus" that are a "dime-a-dozen" in our society - what Peter calls "false teachers" - it's essential that we listen to God's Word for the guidance and direction we need in our lives.

Instead of the "Ben Franklin Virtue Development Course," God's people are focused on what it means to live as people of faith in Jesus Christ. Growing in the virtues of faith in Jesus means repenting of our sins, listening to God speak to us in His Word, kneeling in prayer, and seeking to share His love with others, all on a daily basis. Peter lays out the "virtues" of faith in Jesus very plainly. Goodness, knowledge about God's Word and the world around us, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness, and love, all motivated and informed by God's love, grace, mercy, and forgiveness for us in Christ. As we grow in faith, as we live in the power of Holy Baptism, and as we mature in our understanding of God's Word, people will see Jesus in us and through us come to know Him as their Lord and Savior as well. If you want meaningful, God-pleasing "New Year's Resolutions" you won't find them anymore meaningful and purposeful than what God gives us in His Word.

Prayer: Father, it's not too difficult to be led astray by the practices and ideas of the world concerning perfection and self-improvement. I realize that having "New Year's Resolutions" can be a good thing as long as they are focused on growing in Your grace, maturing in faith in Jesus, and serving others in Your name. Forgive me for those times I get caught up in worldly virtues and resolutions which are self-serving and have no relationship to serving You and others in Jesus' name. By the power of Your Word and Spirit, lead me to focus on growing in Your grace and truth so that I might become a more and more effective witness, in word and deed, of Your love and forgiveness for the world in Jesus. Hear my prayer, gracious Father, for the sake of Jesus. Amen.
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--Pastor Boeck

Copyright @2006 Rev. Richard J. Boeck, Jr. All rights reserved.