"Some resolutions are petty, but most resolutions make a profound statement. They express a sensed need for moral reformation. “Lose weight, quit drinking, smell the roses, and treat my family better” are not trivial matters – when properly framed."
"That’s the rub: proper framing. Whether petty or profound, New Year’s resolutions as such merely express good intentions. They describe self-referential problems – “I find abc displeasing about myself.” They make no reckoning with the power of our passions, fears, habits . . . inner sinfulness, sin directly against God Himself . . . and with the power of outer evils (including enculturation) that allure and constrain us. They propose self-dependent solutions – “I resolve to do xyz to change myself.”"
"Furthermore, whether petty or profound, New Year’s resolutions express purely individualistic intentions."
"I might feel better about myself, but what is God thinking about the Better Me I have become? Am I becoming more integral to the Holy We that is His new creation?"
He then goes on to define what a resolution really is. He submits his own:
I now resolve and promise, in humble reliance upon the grace of the Holy Spirit, that I will endeavor to live as becomes a follower of Christ.And explains it:
"That resolution was not cooked up on some hung-over January 1st because I’d become dissatisfied with my life over the previous 12 months. It is a resolution expressing the mind of Christ, mapping out a new life through all my days and years. To live “as becomes a follower of Christ” takes very seriously many specific sub-resolutions."Please, give Powlison's post a full read. What do you hear him saying? What do you think about what he is saying?
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