With only a few days remaining until 2007 it’s time to review my resolutions for 2006. Since I posted my them publicly it seems appropriate to review them likewise.
This review — and the accountability attached to it — is important because failing to keep our resolutions is not only easy, it is dangerous. So before I share my actual review I wanted to blog a few recent reflections on the consequences of breaking our resolutions.
When we break our resolutions:
a shadow is cast on our resolve to ourselves.
An extra 10 pounds is not the only thing gained with too many trips up and down the diet yo-yo, we also gain a healthy distrust of our personal reliability. We come to learn that we can’t be counted on and that lack of confidence can be crippling.
a shadow is cast on our reputation with others.
We are not the only ones who see our lack of follow through. Since many of our resolutions are made in public or relate to other people, lack of trustworthiness and faithfulness attaches not just to the resolution but to our name. It can be difficult to reverse that sort of notability.
a shadow is cast on our reverence before God.
I suspect most believers typically make resolutions related to their faith, be it for greater obedience in a particular area or increase of spiritual discipline. When we break our commitments to and for God it doesn’t just touch our personal or public life. This third consequence touches the spiritual and eternal realm by betraying a lack of regard for His supreme position. Disregarding a promise made to Him is the greatest danger of all.
So the first consequence is that our resolve is weakened. The broadest consequence is that our reputation is ruined. And the most important consequence is that our reverence is questioned. Of course, now that I’ve cast the discussion in that light, I sure hope I made good on my resolutions.
