The only reason I take note of New Year's is because everyone else does, and then there's the friendly reminder from the neighbors who shoot off their firecrackers all night. Unfortunately it is legal to do that here - apparently. (my poor poor scared cats) How in the world they can afford to spend so much money on that stuff is beyond me. Anyhoo, making New Year's resolutions is the choice topic of conversation among many people this time of year. I am glad that people use this opportunity to better themselves, or at least think about it (if you are one of those - more power to ya!), but for me, I make the same New Year's resolution every year and that is to not make any New Year's resolutions. That is the only New Year's resolution that I can manage to keep.
Last week in church, someone made a comment in his lesson that I have kept in the forefront of my mind in light of the holiday. In passing, he said "the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak." That is taken from Mark 14:38. I know that, in context, it is talking about sin, but I've been thinking about it in the perspective of the New Year's holiday and the annual tradition of making new resolutions. I think it does a very good job at summing up why I don't make resolutions and I never really thought about it until he quoted that passage. In a nutshell, I don't make resolutions because I always end up breaking them. So why even bother to set myself up for disappointing myself?
"The spirit is willing" -- yes, I LOVE to imagine myself eating better, losing weight, sticking to an exercise routine, cutting those XCheddar goldfish out of my diet, getting more organized, or doing whatever it takes to strengthen my various and numerous character weaknesses, etc. My spirit is ready and willing to do those things and I get excited just thinking about it. But "the flesh is weak". Reality hits. I know I should go for a run today (my spirit talking), ......but.........(fill in the blank). "The flesh is weak" and I will come up with any lame excuse to not do it. Like Paul said in Rom 7:15: "For what I will to do, that I do not practice". In spirit I am willing to do what it takes to make the changes, but my flesh is weak (not willing to make the physical effort). Yes, I took that verse out of context to apply it to New Year's. My point is, I am confessing my reason for not making any New Year's resolutions. Basically, I'm physically lazy (the flesh part of me) and not motivated enough.
But it's not like I'm giving up before I'm trying; it's just that I'm not "ready". There are times (on other random marks of the orbital path - take your pick out of 365), when my flesh is indeed strong enough to carry out the will of my spirit (again, I'm not talking about sin here, I am talking about common secular goals that anyone might have), and I find that if it's really important to me, I can make it happen, because I came to the conviction on my own, not because the calendar says I should. I think it's true that goals are more successfully reached by people if it comes from the spirit within themselves, rather than from outsiders, like an inanimate paper calendar hanging on the wall.
So all that being said (from my soapbox), I don't feel bad about not making resolutions because I know that I can get things done at the time of my own choosing and conviction, if it's the Lord's will.
Nuf said.
Happy New Year!
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