Greetings Brothers and Sisters,
Well, here we are in the second week of 2023 and I’m writing my first devotional for the new year. And to start off this new round of devotionals I would like to ask you one simple question. How’s that New Year’s resolution going?
Did you know that, statistically, 43% of all resolutions made in the U.S. end by February? Did you also know that by the end of year only around 9% of people will have accomplished their New Year’s goal? With statistics like that it’s hard to feel as though any of us will truly accomplish what we have set out to do in 2023.
But these statistics hide a very real truth about the human condition. Human’s, at their core, are weak. We are all prone to failure because, in the end, we rarely want to put forth the true effort required to change and grow. Paul writes in his letter to the Romans, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” In a nutshell what the scripture is saying is, simply, all of us are failures.
Now, I’m not trying to start 2023 off by offending every single person in Freestone County. But if the goal of any person is to better themselves (either physically, spiritually, or mentally) then you must start on the right path. So many of us try and achieve our goals without truly determining what it is that we are trying to achieve and thus doomed to fail. Let’s look at some of the most common resolutions and see how they are often misguided.
The top three resolutions are the following; exercise more, eat healthier or lose weight. Now what are all these three concepts trying to accomplish? They are trying to achieve satisfaction in one’s self-image. These goals are meant to bring peace to how a person views their body, but what are they basing their perception of success upon? Is our idea of physical wellness truly achievable if deep down we are trying to heal a hurt that has been brought upon by a judgmental and image-obsessed world? In order to live healthier and honor our bodies we must first acknowledge that God sees all of us as His creation and wonderfully made. Genesis states, “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.” What this means is that we should better ourselves out of a desire for health and honoring God’s creation. The Bible says that our bodies are temples blessed by God, so we must ensure that the temple is strong and capable of serving the Lord. But it should NOT be to reach some worldly image of health and beauty that is biased and unattainable.
If we embark upon any goal and yet are not truly addressing the problem, then we are doomed to failure. Accomplishing our goals that are guided by Christ’s divine direction has a far better chance of success, because God is behind it. We must first seek the Lord’s guidance before we seek to correct ourselves truly.
Next week I’ll be looking at another group of resolutions, so stay tuned to see if yours makes the cut. Do nothing for selfish gain my friends, that only leads to failure and disappointment, instead to everything to the glory of God.
Only through Christ can we hope to achieve the resolutions of 2023.
Pastor Mike McVey
First United Methodist Church, Fairfield
ACS Chaplain – U.S. Coast Guard Base Galveston
(P.S. If you would like contact or receive Pastor Mike’s weekly newsletter simply email him at pastormike@fumcfairfield.org)
