The Haxtun-Fleming Herald - What can we reason but from what we know? -Alexander Pope

The origin of New Year’s resolutions is uncertain though many sources note their presence during the rise of Babylonia some four thousand years ago. They became ritualized and persist to this day in various forms. Most are common declarations to improve one’s health, usually by losing weight or adopting some sort of fitness regimen. Others encourage us to shed poor habits of behavior. But there is more to it than that. Resolutions reflect the heart and soul of who we imagine or desire ourselves to be. They are representative of who we would like to be in an immersive culture.

God bless those who year in and year out fully achieve their objectives. For most of us it is rarely a once and done as we are called to a continual process of transformation and change. It is endemic to our way of life as human beings in and through the many various cultural settings around the world. We cannot escape the clutches of change but we can learn something by opening the door to transformational elements of life and love.

Resolutions are mechanisms offering absolution and forgiveness. They reflect what we ought to be doing instead of merely giving lip concern each year then returning to the same old habits and patterns of the near past. When we fail in our resolve, we can shrug our shoulders and note that, like many others, we entertained mostly hollow resolutions to begin with and, oh well, there’s always next year.

Misery loves company as we love to point out the degree to which others have failed in their resolve. Isn’t it convenient to imprint scrutiny on others while hiding our own blemishes? Our faith calls us to greater accountability than that. The Christ is more than a person or figurehead. The Christ is about maintaining courage in the face of adversity, compassion in the throes of injustice, and purpose marking our everyday. We have our hands full before uttering our first resolutions of the new year. Might we have the pluck to begin each year with resolutions of caring and responsiveness in a world badly in need of both?

Think of it as another way of living, of loving, of being. If the only traits we practice are condemnation and disdain for others, that is what will find its way to our door. It is hardly The Kingdom we so righteously trumpet from the safe confines of sacred buildings and religious enclaves.

Where is this leading? Simply this. I resolve to do better, to love with abandon and to call out circumstances bereft of compassion. I will speak less, listen more, and respond decisively for others who have no voice of their own. I will pour a cool cup of water for travelers in the wilderness and engage every person with as much dignity as I would hope for myself.

There is no timeline for implementing meaningful resolutions. Instead of artificial checklists, let us stop keeping score and begin taking a broader view of the world from our tiny points of origin. We might discover a world worthy of our attention and resolve.