No, not Christmas. It’s time for New Year’s Resolutions! (Not to belittle the importance of Christmas, but as Dr. Doofenshmirtz said, “I have an intense burning indifference!” Feel free to rant in the comment section).
New Years, like springtime, gives me a feeling of renewal. Kind of like that feeling I had the night before the first day of school growing up. I used to lay in bed that night thinking that this year would be different. I would get all A’s, treat my teachers with respect, and make better friends and be a better friend… that would all last through first period… of the first day… then it all went down hill from there.
I’ll admit, I’ve never made a real New Year’s resolution. No, really, I haven’t. But this year is different. You see, Texas has not been good for me (or, maybe, TOO good for me). I have this new “pudge” around my mid-section that has never existed before, I have a new outlook on my spiritual life, and my oldest daughter is now a “pre-teen”… My life has officially reached that “scary stage”.
So this year I thought about making some resolutions like using the elliptical that has been covered up with laundry for 6 months every day for 20 minutes, read through the entire Bible in a year, and do a better job at “dating” my girls (I’m going to make my daughter’s future boyfriends lives miserable by teaching my girls how a boy is to treat a girl… and how to kick ‘em in the groin if they don’t treat ‘em right).
But, then I thought about how flippantly Westerners make resolutions, which led me to think about covenants. I was talking with a friend of mine who manages several L.A. Fitness centers around the metroplex and he said that December through the end of February they get insanely busy… but the rest of the year is pretty quiet. What happened to that “year of healthy living” resolutions everyone made? I don’t want to be “that guy.”
re*so*lu*tion [rez-uh-loo-shun] n. – a resolve or determination
cov*e*nant [kuhv-uh-nuhnt] n. – a formal agreement of legal validity
Obviously, there are many definitions to both of those words, but I like those two definitions and this is my blog, so those are the one’s we shall go with. In both cases the person making the resolution or covenant has a passion and motivation to get something done. Too often we make resolutions without having any resolve or determination, so they are merely temporary things. Sadly it is the same with covenants. Marriage is a covenant with your spouse, but here in America we bail at the first sign of trouble or when a more beautiful person comes along.
Matthew 13:44 “The Kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.”
My friend and mentor, Omar Reyes, taught me a valuable lesson one time using this passage. He said that too often we want the treasure without buying the field. Meaning, we don’t want all the work and responsibility it takes to enter into that covenant to obtain the treasure. We just want the goods without the work. It’s the whole instant gratification that Americans long for and expect.
Making a resolution or covenant takes some sacrifice and hard work at times. Don’t look at this new year and make a flippant resolution. Instead make a covenant to do differently, live differently and be differently.
Oh, and by the way, Merry Christmas.