Things to Keep in Mind for a New Year
Hebrews 12:1
Years ago I heard a woman say that she didn’t understand all the fuss over New Year’s Day. After all, she said, “It’s just another day.” I disagreed with her then and disagree now. We Christians, unlike many around the world, don’t believe history is an endless cycle of events, repeating over and over again. Instead, we believe history is going somewhere, that it has a goal, that God is directing history according to his purposes. For that reason, I could never agree with the woman who made that comment about the beginning of a new year.
Yet, I think I can understand the point she was making. For her, the coming year was going to be the same as the past year. With her in mind, I want to mention the first thing I’d like you to keep in mind as we enter a new year. Simply put: in many ways, the “new” in the New Year is up to you.
Bad habits, hurtful patterns of thinking, destructive ways of relating to others don’t simply drop away when we tear the final page off a calendar. They are still part of us as we enter the New Year. If we want the New Year to be “new” we have to somehow become new.
Of course, this is the whole idea behind New Year’s resolutions. We want to change things, to be different. Among Americans popular resolutions range from concerns about health (quit smoking) to improving our relationships (spend more time with family). Some people’s resolutions can leave us scratching our heads. One of those celebrities who is famous for being a celebrity, Kim Kardashian , recently said that during the coming year she hoped to make a little more “me time.” When I read that, an image popped into my head of Mother Theresa saying, “During the coming year, I hope to devote a little more time to others.”
Most of us have something about ourselves we’d like to change. In some area of our lives we’d like to be “new.” But the truth is—and the jokes seem to prove it—New Year’s resolutions are easy to make but hard to keep. We’re like the man who said, “I resolve to quit gambling” and then asked, “Anyone want to bet me I can’t do it?”
In truth, the surveys show the failure rate is pretty high. Well over 75% those who make resolutions ultimately give up trying to keep them.
Now, some of you may be wondering if this is really the subject for a sermon. I believe it is because it there is something keeping us from being our best, it will impact how we serve the Lord. The writer of Hebrews reminded his readers of the heroes of the faith that had come before them and then threw out this challenge: “Such a large crowd of witnesses is all around us! So we must get rid of everything that slows us down, especially the sin that just won’t let go. And we must be determined to run the race that is ahead of us. “
Notice something. While he includes sin among those things that keep us from running our best race, our progress can be hindered by other things as well. For example, poor eating habits, poor sleep habits, or other such behaviors might keep you from having the energy to serve the Lord in some practical way.
These morally-neutral habits, these patterns of thinking, these behaviors are often the subject of our resolutions. And they often provide the battleground of our defeat.
With this in mind, let me offer some observations on the quest to become “new.”
First, I think we need to try to increase our expectation of success while acknowledging the likelihood of failure.
Recent research has shown that 52% of those who make resolutions sincerely believe they will be able to keep them. That’s more than half. But think about this. Almost half of those who make resolutions expect to fail. In this case, reality is on the side of the pessimists. Only 12% are successful in keeping their resolutions.
In other words, we should probably expect failure. Now, that may seem a downer but it’s really encouraging in a way. To begin with, it means that when you fail, you shouldn’t be surprised. At the same time, your failure doesn’t mean you’re some kind of misfit; it means you’re normal.
It’s hard to change, to become something new. Studies have shown that it may take dozens of attempts to make a change a permanent part of your regular behavior. Some of those studies suggest the average number of attempts is about 66. Some succeed before others, some take a while longer. But if you’re convinced a change will be good, shouldn’t you give it more than one or two attempts? Certainly.
So, when you set out to make a change, be prepared to give it a while. At the same time, keep these facts in mind.
1. Successful change often comes one step at a time. Those involved in 12-step programs know that they have to maintain their victory over substances like alcohol one day at a time. Men who set up measurable goals were more 22% more often than those who didn’t. So, if your want to lose weight, set a goal such as a pound per week rather than making a non-specific resolution like “lose weight.” Maybe you’ve resolved in the past to “read the Bible” only to fail. Instead, maybe you should resolve to read a chapter or two a day. There are lots of schemes to allow you to read the Bible through in one year. Maybe one will help you. On the other hand, there’s nothing magical about reading the Bible through in a year. You’ll be blessed even if it takes two or three years to get through the Bible. Just consider if you need to make your resolutions more manageable.
2. Successful change often comes to people who have support. The same studies showed that women were more successful when they made their goals public and got support from their friends.
This brings us to another point I want to make. Keep in mind that your church is here to encourage you to be all you can be for Christ, for your family, and for yourself.
The church should be a Community of Encouragers
As the writer of Hebrews imagines his readers in their churches he says to them, “And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds.” Now those words depict the church as a community of encouragement.
It’s an image confirmed elsewhere in the New Testament.
The missionary Barnabus was known as an encourager.
Writing to the Thessalonians, Paul says…”Therefore encourage each other with these words.” (1TH 4:18) And, again, “Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.” (1TH 5:11) And, yet again, “And we urge you, brothers…encourage the timid, help the weak, be patient with everyone.” (1TH 5:14)
Paul instructs the young pastor Timothy to make encouragement part of his ministry.
The writer of Hebrews calls his readers to be encouragers. He says, “But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness.” (HEB 3:13)
A Christian isn’t redeemed to be alone. God places us in a caring community in filled with those who want us to succeed in our pilgrimage. So when you make your resolution to change, to become someone new, pair it with a resolution to seek support and encouragement from a fellow believer when you’re struggling to make your resolution a reality.
As you keep in mind that the “new” in the New Year is up to you, you should also keep in mind that the challenge to do the “new” thing involves our thoughts as much as our actions. My earliest memories of my grandfather involve him “rolling his own,” making his own cigarettes. He had empty Prince Albert cans all around his little house in Arkansas. Then his doctors found polyps on his vocal cords. They told him he had to quit smoking. At the age of seventy, he laid his tobacco down and never picked it up again. He died just before his 101st birthday. He made the mental decision to quit and he did.
How we think can be a proper object for change. For many of us, it wouldn’t hurt to start this New Year with a resolution to be realistically positive in our thinking. I’m hardly the role model in this but let me give you a little example.
This past year I’ve read two books with very different outlooks. Each author marshaled statistics to defend his case. One author declared that the church was spiraling downward, about to crash and burn. The other writer argued that Christianity in the world at large and even in the United States was holding its own against secularism and, in some cases, it was making inroads into our culture.
Which one should I believe? I think I’m going to do myself a favor and side with the second writer. For one thing, his perspective honors God more. Then, too, I really believe what you’ve heard me say so many times: It is always too soon to publish the church’s obituary.
Conclusion: A few moments ago I told you that you should expect to fail. That may not sound particularly positive. But remember what God does with failures. He makes successes out of them. When Moses tried to help his fellow Jews, he failed and had to flee the country. Then, God intervened and made a success of the failure. When Peter tried to stand by Jesus on the night of his trial, he failed, failed so completely that he wept tears of shame. Then, Jesus intervened and made a success of the failure.
When you strive to become something new this year, keep in mind a realistic view of yourself--including your potential to change. Keep in mind the support your church can give you. Keep in mind the transforming power of God.
