What’s The Point Of My New Year’s Resolution?

The days between Christmas and New Years are some of my favorite. The decorations are still up, and while there is usually a sense of anticipation about the new year, there’s also a unique stillness as Christmas draws to a close and the break from the mundane is still in the air. It’s during these somewhat slower days that I begin thinking about New Year’s resolutions. I usually have one change that I hope to make in the new year, though I don’t often write it down. I think putting it on paper makes me feel my failure more acutely when I don’t follow through. And the reality is, I hardly ever do. Not consistently, at least.

According to online research, I’m not alone in my inability to carry out these resolutions. One study says that only eight percent of people actually achieve their New Year’s goals. Eight percent! I remember one year my resolution was to have more patience with my family. It wasn’t forty-eight hours after this resolve that I became frustrated with my husband (over something extraordinarily petty) and stuffed his coat in a leftover pizza box. With the leftover pepperoni pizza.

I just haven’t had the greatest success when it comes to new year’s hopes for myself (my husband’s pizza covered coat is just one indication), so this year, I’ve reflected less on a specific resolution and more on why I actually desire to make the change. What’s really the point?

Increasing Jesus

Listen to the beautiful language used by John the Baptist in John 3:29-30: “The one who has the bride is the bridegroom. The friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom’s voice. Therefore, this joy of mine is now complete. He must increase, but I must decrease.”

In this passage, John, who had been mistaken for the Messiah, removes himself from any undue attention and instead shines light on Jesus for all to see and hear. John is merely the friend of the beloved bridegroom, who is Jesus.

I played a duet with baseball Cardinal legend Stan “The Man” Musial when I was in high school. “Stan the Man” played his harmonica while I tinkered on the piano, and as a musician, I knew just how big the gap was between Stan’s incredible talent and my own limited abilities. So, after we finished, I gladly and eagerly moved into the crowd and applauded the greatness that stood before us. It was simply a joy for me to have used my gifts to enhance the person who really mattered in those moments.

In the same way, John’s image deliberately strips him of any glory received by man and redirects all the praise to Jesus, the One who really matters. John found abounding joy when he became smaller and Jesus became bigger. The voice of Jesus (the bridegroom) had replaced the voice of John, and because of this, John is satisfied completely and wholly.

Decreasing Ourselves

The natural result of increasing Jesus is that our love for other things that do not have eternal value decreases. In order to find real and lasting joy, Jesus asks that we love him over everyone and everything because when He increases, so does our joy. And Jesus’ love for His children is so great that he wants us to experience complete joy in Him.

When it comes to our New Year’s resolutions, do we make them for the purpose of increasing ourselves or our Savior? If your resolution is to eat better and exercise, is it only about increasing yourself by obsessing over physical appearance, wanting merely to look different or better? Or are you resolving to eat healthier and exercise in order to increase Jesus by resting in him or talking to him during a walk or run, by using your good health to serve others in the body, or by viewing healthy food as a way to care for the physical body God has given you.

Even our resolutions to study the Bible can be done for the purpose of increasing ourselves instead of our Savior. If the purpose stems from a belief that being in Scripture will make life easier and keep difficulty at bay, then our time in God’s Word becomes about us. But if this resolution is for the purpose of increasing Jesus, then we make it in order to know Jesus more, love Him deeper, and even understand Him better. The outcome of our New Year’s plan is not ultimately about us and our good (or failed) ability to follow through; instead, it’s about shining the spotlight on Jesus who makes our joy complete through His incomparable love. There is freedom in knowing that our joy in Jesus will not falter with our inability to perfectly follow through.

When our Savior, the bridegroom, is at the center stage of our lives, we have the opportunity to applaud the One who gives us every ability, who leads us through every smooth day and missed step, and who goes before us into this new year. When Jesus increases, there is joy found that is far deeper than happiness; it’s a joy that is complete and whole and always remains no matter our circumstance.

This should be the greatest reason for New Year’s resolutions. The point is always Jesus.