The New Year’s celebration began about 2,000 BC in Mesopotamia and originally took place at the spring equinox in mid-March.
Julius Caesar gets the credit for moving the celebration to Jan. 1 by introducing a new lunar calendar to the Roman Empire in 46 BC.
Currently, it’s a huge global celebration.
New Year’s resolutions are also ancient. Ancient Babylonians promised their gods, at the beginning of each year, that they would return the things they had borrowed and pay all their debts.
Resolutions remain a part of the New Year’s celebration. There are a myriad of them, but the top four are, spending more time with family and friends, getting physically fit through regular exercise, losing weight and to stop smoking.
Some Christians feel that resolutions are a secular idea and should be avoided, while others say that they are never kept, so why bother making them.
The Bible speaks neither for nor against resolutions. However, it is not difficult to find a biblical precedent for such decisions.
For example, Paul said, “I press on toward the goal ...” (Philippians 3:14) and Lamentations 3:40 says, “Let us examine our ways and test them, and let us return to the Lord.”
Based on that, it’s clear that resolutions may very well be a good thing if they are based on honest introspection, a serious resolve to do things differently in the future and coupled with a degree of integrity to carry through with them. But there should be some guidelines.
To begin with, resolutions are not a magical wand waved about on Dec. 31. They should be the result of thoughtful contemplation with a clear goal in mind, typically resulting in a lifestyle change that would be advantageous to self and others.
Though resolutions are not magically induced, they should be spiritually established.
Christians should always recognize their dependency upon God. Philippians 4:13 says, “I can do everything ...,” but the verse does not end there. It goes on to say, “through Christ who strengthens me.”
Resolutions should be preceded by and permeated with prayer. The Lord’s wisdom in establishing the resolution, as well as His strength to stay motivated to complete it, should be requested. When the goal is achieved, a prayer of thanksgiving is also in order.
Incidentally, if a resolution was meaningful for a year, then it is quite possibly something that could be incorporated for a lifetime.
Finally, let me close with a quote from Jonathan Edwards. “Being aware 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 ...”
Happy New Year!
Pastor Ross Helgeton is the senior pastor of Evangelical Free Church of Erskine.
— Faith & Reflection