Every December and January, people make New Year’s Resolutions for the upcoming year. It’s a common cultural tradition that I actually love, because it represents the newness we possess to change our behavior. It shows that positive action is possible. But the most important thing is that we actually resolve to do it, otherwise it remains an unchecked box on a piece of paper.
In order for our resolutions to mean anything, we must actually do them, which means we must reinforce action with belief. What we resolve to do in our actions is simply a reflection of what we believe in our hearts and minds. If we don’t believe it, we don’t do it. We can say anything and everything to justify our strong-willed belief system, but if our actions consistently misalign with our so-called beliefs, they are not beliefs, but lies we tell ourselves. This is why James said in his letter, “Do not merely listen to the Word and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.”
In examining the same concept of belief in his book, Letter to the American Church, Eric Metaxas says the following, "God commands us to passionately and utterly and wholeheartedly love him. He is not interested in what we say we 'believe.'...God is not satisfied - or fooled - by what we say we 'believe' any more than the devil is fooled by what we say we 'believe.' Or any more than our neighbors are fooled, or our friends or enemies. People see precisely what we believe by how we behave."
If we want to change our actions, we must change our beliefs at the same time. This might not get done overnight, but the first step is to realize that what we believe is already shown in how we live right now. The key to a successful New Year’s Resolution is to lean into our newness of life in Christ and change our behavior according to his will. Scripture provides a template that we can follow for new behaviors, giving us a more accurate alignment of what we believe and what we do. If we consistently reinforce what we believe, we will consistently live that way. We will be resolved to change.
*References: James 1:22, Letter to the American Church by Eric Metaxas