With a new year, many will celebrate 2024 and all the things that were accomplished or the memories made. We will see countless videos about vacations, marriages celebrated, and career milestones reached. Beyond that, the end of the year brings intense reflection on one’s life. Honestly, it can be bleak at times. Thoughts like:
- I really thought I was going to get that promotion this year.
- I truly believed this was the year I would meet my future spouse. (I mean I ate the grapes under a table and everything.)
- This is not my ideal weight goal.
- I’m disappointed I didn’t travel as much as I wanted to.
At the end of the day, all these things bring everyone to one singular thought: I really thought things would be different. For me, sometimes, the root of this is jealousy. All those recap videos of weddings and trips make me wonder if it will ever be my turn. I take everyone’s celebratory 2024 videos and let them lead to discontentment instead of joy for my friends.
Maybe, your reflection isn’t in comparison to others. Maybe, you’re just unhappy that your 2024 resolutions were forgotten by the time the Valentine’s candy in February went on sale. Maybe, your choices lead you to feel unhappy with your looks, circumstances, or options. It’s about you and your mistakes, not jealousy.
Regardless of how you feel about 2024, many of you probably made New Year’s resolutions to try and become more like the you wished you were at the end of 2024. New year, new you, right?
However, recently, I realized resolutions are almost all about you. You might be thinking…yeah duh. But, as a believer, I know my life isn’t supposed to be about me. In Matthew 16:24, it says to follow Jesus, we must “deny ourselves.” This means we are to lay our own selfish desires, ambitions, and dreams in order to live every day for Christ and whatever he calls us to. Resolutions are not inherently bad, but they can be depending on your motivation behind them.
I have a large bucket list full of things I want to experience including a surfing lesson, a hot air balloon ride, and sky diving. However, some of these dreams were born from a friend who is very blessed. She always seemed to live life large by hiking, traveling, camping, surfing, and all these other adventurous fun things. All the while she put Christ at the center of it. While my dreams to do similar things aren’t inherently evil, some of these dreams were born of jealousy, of wanting to be admired, and of wanting to be viewed a certain way. My heart was not right, and my desires to do these things were, on some level, about how I wanted others to perceive me. Luckily, the Lord has changed my motivation behind many of these things and continues to work in my heart to this day.
I think resolutions can be the same way. A bucket list is not bad, and resolutions are not evil. But, I think we are too quick to set goals without really considering them.
- Why do you want to lose weight? Is it to be able to glorify God with your body for a long time? Or do you want to have a model figure to display on social media for admiration?
- Why do you want a promotion? Is it because you want to provide for your family, want to promote Christ-like ethics in corporations more, or will have a greater opportunity to share the Gospel? Or is your end goal just to have a lot of money or prestige?
- Why do you want to meet your spouse? Is it because you desire a family the way God desired it to be? Or do you just feel lonely and left out from all the things a relationship can offer?
While these are just a few examples, it can really put things into a new perspective to understand your “why” behind them. Besides, if you actually understand why you want to do the things you do, you will be more motivated to do them throughout the whole year.
So, this year my resolutions sound a little different. I want to keep my new apartment clean and learn to cook better. Because, I believe that the Lord calls me to take care of the things he blesses me with. This also allows me to be more hospitable to those around me, hopefully, opening doors for the Gospel to be shared in my own home. I want to be a good employee, known as a hard worker. Because, I believe the Lord calls us to work hard at whatever we do for his glory. As a hard worker, I also believe that it will open doors to share the Gospel with people at work. Overall, I just want every aspect of my life whether in a student, employee, roommate, daughter, sister, or friend role to reflect Christ. So, I want my resolutions to align with that as well – fully and wholeheartedly. I hope you want to do the same.
Happy 2025. May we all aim to live holy and obedient lives no matter what.
-Kaitlyn
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