Each year there is a lot of talk about new year resolutions. Loosing weight is by far the most common resolution made, followed by quitting smoking, better finances, staying fit, and falling in love. These are good resolutions to make, and can help improve your life, but are these the things that should be on the top of our list?
The Bible teaches us to be healthy and not do anything that can harm our body (1 Corinthians 3:16-17), be wise with our finances (Luke 16:11, Proverbs 13:22), and tells us about the importance of love (1 Corinthians 14:1). With the preceding verses, it could be easy to say, “I want to loose weight and have more money because the Bible says I should!”. Even if these actions would be pleasing to Him, are your motives pleasing Him? Are you setting your own goals for yourself and asking Him to bless them, or are you asking Him to show you what your goals should be?
I know I have been guilty of this. I have a career I love, but is low paying with crazy hours. I have cough myself thinking that I needed to find a better job with better pay so that I could afford to spend more time on Church activities. Some would say this is a noble goal. I justified it to myself because the end result would be greater service to His kingdom. The problem is, should our devotion and service to God’s kingdom be the end result of our goal? Absolutely not!
We must remember Matthew 6:33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be provided for you. I have heard this verse many times. I have told it to other people. I have read many other verses in the Bible with a very similar message. However it is easy to get lost in the world. I often have to stop and prayerfully reconsider my motives and actions to ensure that I am seeking God’s Kingdom FIRST.
Some Christians set new years resolutions to Read the Bible in a year. Some set out to start a new ministry, pray for others more, or tithe. I’m not here to tell you what your new years resolution should be. I simply encourage you to prayerfully consider your goals. Ask God to reveal to you the areas of your life that need to change and how you can be of better service to His kingdom.
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation;old things have passed away, and look,new thingshave come.Everything is from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation:That is, in Christ, God was reconciling the worldto Himself,not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed the message of reconciliation to us. Therefore, we are ambassadorsfor Christ, certain that God is appealing through us. We plead on Christ’s behalf,“Be reconciled to God.” He made the One who did not know sinto be sinfor us,so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
2 Corinthians 5:17-21