Do you make new year resolutions? About this time of year everyone starts talking about the things they will do next year. We call these resolutions. I don’t have a fundamental problem with resolutions, but making them at new year seems a bit arbitrary to me.
A resolution is a commitment to change something you do or how you live. That is often a good thing. However, in my experience most people (including me) soon forget their resolutions and go back to the way they lived previously. It seems their resolution was not a deep enough commitment – or is there another reason?
As I was reading this morning I came across 1 Timothy 4:15:
Take pains with these things; be absorbed in them, so that your progress will be evident to all
As I read this verse I thought about how committed I am to the things I do, and how little I evidence my convictions. This led me to consider the subject of discipline. Earlier in the chapter we read 1 Timothy 4:7:
But have nothing to do with worldly fables fit only for old women. On the other hand, discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness; [emphasis mine]
If there is one thing that I do need to focus on, it is this – taking pains with godliness. Why? Because as Paul says:
godliness is profitable for all things, since it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come. (1 Tim 4:8)
Godliness is profitable for all things. Godliness doesn’t restrict itself to the knowledge of theology, but encompasses the living out of the theology we have. Incidentally, this is where most Christians let themselves down, and where the Christian testimony to the world is most broken – we don’t live what we say we believe. Yet Paul says that godliness is profitable for all things – the present life and the life to come.
How does godliness help us in the present life? If we think about the commands and promises of the Bible we could consider that we would be productive (rather than slothful – Proverbs 24:30-34), healthier (rather than overweight – Proverbs 23:21), better stewards of our money (rather than spending it on ourselves – James 4:3), better able to control our desires, subjecting all to Christ (1 Cor 10:31), better at relating to other people because we consider others better than ourselves (Phil 2:3), and our walk with Christ will be more intimate because we set aside the time to read the word and pray.
But all these benefits come at a cost. We must take pains with these things. We must discipline our bodies, making it our slave (1 Cor 9:27). Of course the benefits above are just for this life. There are even greater benefits beyond this life.
So, rather than making a resolution, I want to establish more discipline in order to establish godliness in my life. This is a commitment to a complete overhaul, but without the arbitrariness and without trying to take on goals bigger than I can achieve. It is more of an upward call of God in Christ Jesus (Phil 3:14).
Discipline is what is lacking the most in my life. It could be the same for you. For this reason, rather than making a new resolution each year, why not instead, focus on increasing your own personal godliness by a continuous focus on self-discipline?
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