It’s that time again! The time when everyone designs their New & Improved Self™ for the upcoming year.
Is that you? Are you planning things to start and things to stop, daydreaming about how awesome life will be come June?
That’s certainly me.
The turn of the year is an irresistible invitation to start fresh. But, as we all know, it’s damn near impossible to stick to our good intentions. Most people bail before the end of January, which is super disheartening.
But maybe we’re coming at it wrong.
What if instead of overcommitting to long lists of changes that we don’t have the bandwidth for—like exercising every day, quitting social media, saving half our paycheck—we asked one simple question:
“How can I be more like Jesus this year?”
Or, put another way: “How can I love God and love others more this year?”
Whoa.
Am I the only one who felt all the tension drain out of their scalp just now?
Revising the classic New Year’s resolution into one heart-level desire to be more kind, generous, and forgiving puts us on track for (super)natural, positive change that goes far beyond what we could ever do for ourselves.
Our other, “worldly” goals aren’t bad, by the way; they’re just out of order. Jesus promised that putting God first is the surest way to have our needs and desires met, so we know that when we align ourselves to HIS way, He’ll make OUR way straight.
For 2020, let’s drop the focus on what we want to do/not do and instead focus on who we want to BE. Or at least, who we want to be like.
“That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn’t life more than food, and your body more than clothing? […] Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.” [Mat 6:24-33 NLT]
