Resolution

It’s the fourth day of the New Year. Have you made any resolutions? Have you broken any yet?

Will  is Powerless.  New Year’s Resolutions are generally an exercise in futility. Eighty-eight percent of resolutions aren’t kept. Most believe this is because will power is weak and that our best chance is to keep it simple. They teach that we should pick one thing that needs improvement and not push our will power to the breaking point by resolving to lose weight, become wealthy, marry a movie star, and quit smoking.

Resolution is complex. It’s more than a firm decision to do something. It is the act of solving or explaining a problem or puzzle. Remember being asked to give a resolution to an algebra problem. The teacher didn’t just want an answer. She wanted to see your work, how you got to the answer. Resolution also means: the degree of sharpness of an image or the number of pixels across and down on a display screen. It implies both close examination, down to the tiniest pixel, but also grasping the whole picture.

Resolution is a process. A resolution is not simply a decision to do something. It is process of deep thought and meditation. It means a mental exercise in breaking down something into its essential parts and then coming to a solution. It is an exercise in improvement.

Resolution requires daily examination of conscience. The typical Christian life used to include daily,  quiet self-reflection to examine one’s sins and resolve to live a more Godly life. It’s a discipline we could all benefit from today.

Before plotting a solution, we need to know the problem. Rather than just jumping on the “obvious” things we should improve, shouldn’t we look closely and ask questions? What kind of person am I? What kind of person do I want to be?

Most resolutions arise from guilt that we don’t fit society’s model of what we should be. It’s hard to argue that we should be healthier, wealthier or nicer. As Christians, shouldn’t the questions be more spiritual and more focused?

Look at Jesus. Look in the mirror. For the Christian, resolution should be more than an annual evaluation of who we can improve.  It should be a measurement of where we are in the Sanctification process. We can determine that only be looking at Jesus and then ourselves.

That is the true joy of Resolution, for New Years Day or any day: Becoming more like Christ.

Tomorrow: Getting Specific.