No More

It’s that time of year again. The calendar is about to be replaced and plans to set New Year’s resolutions are brewing in your brains even as you read this. Before you start jotting down that list that looks remarkably similar to the one you lost somewhere last January, even though it included Get Organized, let me share a few thoughts on the whole resolution idea.

Did you know that almost half of Americans make these vows to begin the year with? And of those, one third break them before the groundhog pokes his head out of his hidey-hole. Let’s take a gander at the top ten resolutions, shall we?

 The Top Ten Resolutions for 2011:

1. Stop Smoking

2. Get into a Habit of being Fit

3. Lose Weight 

4. Enjoy Life More

5. Quit Drinking

6. Organize Yourself

7. Learn Something New

8. Get out of Debt

9. Spend More Time With Family

10. Help People

Let this simmer on the back burner for a moment while I chase a rabbit trail, so to speak.

Last week I wrote a Biblical fiction piece about the woman caught in adultery (Beautiful Feet) and tied her into the woman that anointed Jesus with the Spikenard oil from her Alabaster box. This story burned in my heart for days before I could finally release it in written form.  A few things from her story spoke deep to my heart.

First of all, Jesus didn’t consider her obvious sin to be anything worse than any sin of the crowd that gathered. When He made it known that no one accused her anymore, he told her to “Go and sin no more”.

Think about it, when we make a list of resolutions we really are announcing that we will make an attempt to give up sinful habits. Can you look at the list and see any that have absolutely no connection to sin? I know the Bible doesn’t say we shouldn’t smoke, or we should exercise, etc. but it does tell us that our body is the temple and we should maintain it as such (1 Cor. 6:19-20, Eph 5:18), that we are to treat other’s as we would like to be treated (Matt 7:12, Eph 5:25), and that we should be good stewards of our time, talent and finances (Col 3:23, 1 Tim 5:8, Titus 2:7, 1 Cor 4:1-2).

This year I see New Year’s Resolution in a new light. They are the world’s way of trying to clean up, when in reality, it is a sin issue. How do we deal with sin? We repent. Like the woman in my last blog post, we sit at the feet of Jesus and give Him everything we are and when we stand up and walk away from the intimate encounter with the One that can cleanse us from all sin, we go and sin no more, not in our own power, but with the leading and guiding of the Holy Spirit. (John 16:7-11)

So, just like everybody else, I do see the beginning of a new year as an opportunity to start over. But unlike the world, I know it can’t be done in my own power and it isn’t a single act, but a daily one. For 2011 I long to sit at Jesus’ feet and go, and sin no more.

~Search me, Oh God, and know my heart. Try me and know my thoughts. Psalm 139:23