By: Corey BonassoIt is now mid-January, and 2023, while still fresh, is starting to feel less shiny. Almost 3 weeks in, and I’m sure many of us have forgotten our new year’s resolutions (or at least slacked off to some extent). For those of you who are still disciplined and sticking closely to your resolutions, congrats to you, my friend. Keep rolling! For me personally, I hate new year’s resolutions. I should clarify that I do not hate the concept of resolutions – the setting of achievable goals and working towards them – quite the opposite in fact. I believe setting goals for self-improvement is a noble and wonderful practice, and it is in fact the topic of this article. The reason I hate new year’s resolutions is that they are built around a timeline. January 1 is a new beginning for many people, but in reality, January 1 is just like any other tomorrow on the calendar. The earth just happens to be in the same position in its orbit around the sun that it was last January 1 (or pretty close for you Leap Year sticklers). I think resolutions beginning on a birthday make more sense – “new age, new me” or some other catchy hashtag. If your birthday is January 1, then you are the exception to my silly rant. To put it simply, I love the practice of making (and sticking to) resolutions, but I do not love the idea of attaching them to an arbitrary date on the calendar. If we really want to improve something about ourselves or our lives, we can make a resolution any time – today even!
In today’s culture, especially in the United States, there is a heavy (and I believe damaging) emphasis on individualism. It is a wonderful thing to have a unique identity and be authentic in who you are; however, I believe the pendulum has swung too far toward that extreme to the point where people are apathetic and/or unwilling to make changes to improve themselves. The mantra seems to have become something like “this is who I am and to try to change would make me someone I am not, so I refuse to change.” It’s a popular mantra because there is some truth to it. It would be foolish to endeavor to change yourself in ways that go against what you believe or that are not in keeping with your character; however, there’s one major caveat, which I’ll address in a moment. Many unbelievers today reject Christianity because they equate the Christian walk (namely, sanctification) with this idea that the Church is trying to change them into someone they are not. They refuse to surrender their identities as individuals. Now for the caveat – if you are a Christian, you should desire to become someone you are not. Paul’s letter to the Romans states this perfectly. “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” (Romans 12:2; emphasis added).
Our character and our identity are rooted in sin, so in our efforts to become someone we are not, we should be striving to become someone without sin. We won’t ever get it perfect, but that should not stop us from continuously aiming for perfection. God created us perfectly, but our earthly bodies and minds are tainted with sin, and the steps we take to change ourselves should aim to master sin in our daily lives. God’s word exposes the lie that my individual identity is more important than my sanctification.
Scripture reveals how God made us uniquely in Psalm 139:13-15.
13 For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.
15 My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place,
when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
It is true that God created me with unique traits that set me apart from every other person in the world. It is not true that I should cling to those unique traits as a prideful declaration that I am special and without need for change. To echo a sentiment of Pastor Will’s most recent blog post, God did not create each of us as individuals for our individual glory – He created each of us as individuals with unique traits so that we could uniquely glorify Him. Therefore, our resolutions for change should not be to improve ourselves just for the sake of improvement, but to improve ourselves to better glorify God.
Our individualism is a good thing that can be used to glorify God because all of our unique gifts can be used in unison to complement one another and work toward the same goal. Just as our bodies have many different parts, the Church body has many different and distinct parts with different and distinct functions. In 1 Corinthians 12:12-27, we read this:
12 For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. 13 For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit. 14 For the body does not consist of one member but of many. 15 If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. 16 And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. 17 If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? 18 But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. 19 If all were a single member, where would the body be? 20 As it is, there are many parts, yet one body. 21 The eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you,” nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” 22 On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, 23 and on those parts of the body that we think less honorable we bestow the greater honor, and our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty, 24 which our more presentable parts do not require. But God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it, 25 that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. 26 If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together. 27 Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it.
Whenever I read this passage, I often think about a professional athlete. His body is in peak physical condition in every aspect. Every part of his body is working as it should and everything is extremely well-coordinated because every part is conditioned to perform its proper function at the highest level. I’ve never seen a basketball player hit a game winner without using his hands, or a football player score a touchdown without using his legs, or a baseball player hit a home run without the ability to see the ball coming. Just as an athlete works all of his body parts together to do amazing things, we must transform our minds into the mind of Christ in order to condition ourselves as the body of Christ. When we do this, God does amazing things with his body.
So we’ve established that resolutions generally are good, and that for Christians they ought to be intended ultimately to increase our glorification of God through unity in the Church body, not merely individual self-improvement. Now that we have analyzed that point thoroughly, we move to the question of “what should my resolutions be? Pray more? Read my Bible more? Evangelize more? Go to church more? Serve in church more?” Here’s where the title to this article makes sense – the answer to all is a resounding “YES!”
This might be a new concept to some believers, and to others this might be an extremely familiar refrain. That list of resolutions is certainly not exhaustive, but it is somewhat common for many Christians. However, that does make it any less valuable. No matter where you fall on that spectrum, you have lots of room for improvement.
12 Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. 13 Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. 15 Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you. 16 Only let us hold true to what we have attained.” Philippians 3:12-16.
As Pastor Will says, “always striving, never arriving.” Some of these disciplines might be things you are crushing already. Maybe you’re a prayer warrior who wants to be more diligent in studying your Bible. Maybe you serve on 3 different teams at church but haven’t told anyone new about Jesus in a while. Maybe you haven’t missed a Sunday sermon all year, but the only time you pray is right before communion. Maybe you talked to 10 people about Jesus this week, but you couldn’t remember certain scripture references because you haven’t actually studied it for some time. I’m not trying to pick on you if you struggle in some of these areas. I am convicted as much or more so writing these things than anyone reading them. The idea I do want to get across is this – if you are committed to changing yourself in order to glorify God, say yes. Yes, I will pray. Yes, I will read my Bible. Yes, I will evangelize. Yes, I will attend church. Yes, I will serve in church. If nobody has asked you to do these things, then I am asking you right now, Christian – will you commit to do these things? I implore you to say yes, and watch God work through it. Not “yes, but” or “yes, as long as” or “yes for this thing, but not for that thing”…just “yes” and let God work. The power of saying “yes” to God is exhilarating, it is infectious, it is contagious, it is awe-inspiring, it is life-changing, it is peace-inducing, it is God-glorifying. Saying yes to God is obedient.
In making any resolution (especially as a means of sanctification), too often we are crippled by indecision and fear of uncertainty. Friends, if you have put your faith in Jesus Christ, you have been called to action. Indecision cannot rule over us. In Luke we read this, “Jesus said to him, ‘No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.’” (Luke 9:62). One way to take action is to set one or several resolutions and trust God to use it for his plan.
As a practical note, we must remember to make SMART resolutions:
Specific- “I resolve to pray every day from 12:30 pm until at least 12:40 pm”
Measurable- “I resolve to attend church on Sunday a minimum of 3 times per month”
Attainable- “I resolve to talk about Jesus with at least 2 people each week”
Relevant- “I resolve to serve at least once per month on the tear-down team”
Timely- “I resolve to read the entire Bible in 1 year”
This is obviously too clever to be my original thought, but it is useful. The resolutions listed above are examples of each concept, and many overlap with each other. Setting unrealistic or ambiguous goals for ourselves will only serve to discourage us when we inevitably fail. Resolving to read the entire Bible in 1 month or talk to 1 person every single day about Jesus or pray for 1 hour per day are likely too lofty for most. As Bob Wiley would agree, baby steps are key. The adage “every journey of 1,000 miles begins with a single step” is an adage because it’s true. If you are at point A and you resolve to reach point Z, you likely will be overwhelmed by the task and want to give up. If you are at point A, instead resolve to first reach point B. Once there, set your sights on point C. Making (and keeping) these smaller, progressive resolutions is really what the entire Christian life is about. Our spiritual walk, ideally, is a constant improving of our thinking and action to align more closely with the way Jesus lived and thought, which is revealed to us through scripture. This is sanctification. Our opportunity to improve never ends so long as we are earthbound, but God will complete our sanctification when we receive our glorified spiritual bodies one day in Heaven. “And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.” (Philippians 1:6).
Furthermore, achieving these small goals builds confidence and momentum. When we achieve our first small goal, we feel a sense of achievement, and it gives us the motivation to achieve our next, slightly larger goal. Once you’ve achieved several increasingly challenging goals, the snowball effect comes into play, and you want to push forward all the more to reach your goals. As Christians, we understand these little successes and momentum-builders are the result of the Spirit of God working within us. Jesus told us that we cannot truly accomplish anything without him. “I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5). The other side of that coin also holds true, “I can do all things through him who strengthens me.” (Philippians 4:13).
Christian, I say to you (and to myself), the Spirit will work within us much more frequently and effectively when we are willing participants; when we are active, not sedentary; when we aim for his glory and not our glory.
When we say, “Yes!”