Time for a change? (31st December 2018)

SO. New Year is here. The time of change. The time of year in which the world makes the ultimate excuse to radically change their lifestyle. Want a new you? Why don’t you start a new diet, break a bad habit, give something up, take up exercise, read more books, learn an instrument, learn another language, make a bucket list, take up a new hobby. These, and many more, are the things that we come to expect of new years resolutions. But what is it that makes us choose to do these things now? Sure, it’s a new year, but newness isn’t fixed. If we are honest with ourselves, when that clock strikes midnight not much has changed. Really, it’s just like any other day. Any other midnight. It’s just that the number of years has changed by one. Maybe we congratulate ourselves that we have made another year. It’s a victory of sorts. And so, to congratulate ourselves on one year ending we look to improve our next year.
But will these things make us better people? Sure, they may make us slightly different, if we stick to them. In a Guardian article from 2015 63% of adults in the UK admitted that they had failed to keep New Years resolutions, and 66% of these admitted to doing so within a month.
So why do we bother? Is it just our over indulgences at Christmas, or is it more than that? I believe it is more. Fundamentally we are insecure about who we truly are, and we constantly seek both gratification and to improve what we see as our own brokenness. But is this achievable? Or is it that our brokenness is innate? Can we truly better ourselves?
In my opinion I think it depends on your goals and your motives behind them. Why are you setting your goal? How do you hope to feel if you achieve it? Is it likely that you will truly feel this way?
I am not trying to discourage you. If you are truly disciplined and determined, then I give you my best. But if you are doing so because in some deep part of you you believe that you are inadequate, then I am here to tell you that that isn’t true. You are enough. You don’t need to lose weight or get healthier or better yourself.
As a Christian, it is unnecessary. In 2 Corinthians 5:17 it says ‘Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!’. What does this mean this new year? Well, it means you do not need to better yourself. The Bible is very clear that the things of this earth will not last, and that includes our bodies. Instead, we should focus on how we relate to each other. Jesus teaches us to love one another. In Luke 10: 25-28:
‘And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” He said to him, “What is written in the Law? How do you read it?” And he answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbour as yourself.” And he said to him, “You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live.”
At the risk of sounding like John Lennon, if we truly wish to better ourselves and our society, we should learn to love. And not in the traditional sense. Let’s find love everywhere. Let’s give love not only where its due, but also where it is needed. Let’s try and live out the life Christ planned for us. Let’s live with understanding. Don’t be angry when someone has a different political or philosophical view. Let’s live out a life of understanding and mercy. Let’s resolve to be better by loving not only others, but also ourselves. If we are to love our neighbour as ourselves, let’s love ourselves more. Let’s not set resolutions which undermine who we are or make us feel worse about ourselves. Because gurl…
YOU ARE WORTHY OF LOVE.