What do you want in a New Year?

Have you finished your list?

Your list of New Year resolutions, that is.

Around this time every year, millions of people feel compelled to come up with a resolution or two for the coming New Year, even though they know deep down that the resolution will never see the end of January. Most resolutions for most people don’t.

But have you noticed this: People tend to do what they really want to do, even if it’s challenging or difficult. We are more willing to “pay the costs” for what we want than we are to do the same for what’s best for us!

So instead of spending time on insincere resolutions, let me ask you this: What do you want in a New Year?

The problem we have with asking ourselves only what we want is we know how selfish we can be, and selfishness usually doesn’t care for our best interests or that of anyone else. So what if we could merge what is best for us with something we really desire? Pursuing that for the coming year could be a joy and a blessing.

How can we come up with such a pursuit? I think this story shared by Mitchell Dillon can answer that for us …

When I was a boy, I always looked forward to our summer trips from San Francisco to West Texas to spend vacation TIME with extended family. My two younger brothers and I would pile into our un-air-conditioned car, anxious to begin the long trek across the Southwest. At the end of each day’s journey, the three of us would beeline our way to the hotel pool to re-hydrate —something we really looked forward to after hours of being blasted in the back seat by the hot desert air. These were great adventures filled with the excitement of seeing new places and the extravagance of eating out (something we never did back home).

One year during our journey, my youngest brother did something completely out of character for his normally compliant nature. Despite a tight budget and strict instructions to the contrary, James defiantly placed the same order every time we stopped to eat.

“I’ll have what Dad is having,” he would insist.

Apparently, my little brother had noticed that the plate of food placed in front of our father always looked a lot more appealing than the one typically placed in front of him. That was all it took. From then on, all he wanted was what our father was having. At five years of age, my little brother didn’t know much, but he knew that anything Dad ordered would be better than what he knew to order off the Kiddie Menu. Genius!

When what we desire and pursue is what interests and pleases our heavenly Father, then we’ve discovered the pursuit for our lives that will gain God’s blessing and be what’s best for us and others. In fact, scripture implores us to purposely imitate our heavenly Father …

“Imitate God, therefore, in everything you do, because you are his dear children. Live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ. He loved us and offered himself as a sacrifice for us, a pleasing aroma to God,” Ephesians 5:1-2.

If you imitate God in everything you do — because you are His children! — throughout 2019, then what more could you possibly want or need in the New Year?

A New Year is almost here, but time never stands still, we need to spend our time in the New Year wisely …

“Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil. So then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is,” Ephesians 5:15-17 (NASB).

So, what do YOU want in a New Year?

Scotty