This is Father Jared Cramer from St. John’s Episcopal Church in Grand Haven, Michigan, here with today’s edition of Christian Mythbusters, a regular segment I offer to counter some common misconceptions about the Christian faith. 

As the church continues walking through the Twelve Days of Christmas (yes, despite what you may assume, given the number of Christmas Trees already thrown to the street for recycling, we are still in the midst of Christmas), much of the world has turned its sight toward the New Year. Depending on whether you hear this on Wednesday or Sunday, you will either be hearing this a few days before New Year’s or a few days afterwards. 

If you’re like me, maybe you struggle a little bit with your New Year’s Resolutions, perhaps having entirely given up on them. You wouldn’t be alone, that’s for sure. 

But, whether or not you make New Year Resolutions, I wanted to take a moment this week and break some of the myths surrounding the resolve we have when it comes to making changes in our lives. 

Whatever resolution I come up with, in the years I do make a resolution, whether it is consistently to go to the gym at least three times a week, to cut down on fast food, or to take a shot at a dry January… Man, I sometimes feel like the Apostle Paul in his Letter to the Romans. In Chapter 7, he writes, “I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate… I can will what is right, but I cannot do it. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I do.^”

The struggle with choosing the good and avoiding the wrong is one that has perplexed Christians and engaged theologians since the first century. 

An English monk in the fourth century named Pelagius dealt with the struggle by insisting that what was needed was, quite simply, for Christians to try harder. He was disappointed by the moral laxity of other Christians, particularly in Rome, blaming their moral laxity on their understanding of divine grace. He insisted they were using grace as a ticket not to try to be better Christians, that humans actually could, through their own nature, choose the good and resist the bad, that we had the strength within us, the resolve, to do what we should do. 

You may be surprised to find out that the church responded to the teachings of Pelagius by insisting they were heretical, contrary to the fundamental claims of the Christian faith. 

One of the strongest critics of Pelagius was the great African bishop, St. Augustine of Hippo. Augustine insisted that, contrary to the teachings of Pelagius, God does not redeem us according to our own merit but instead out of God’s love and forgiveness for us. Furthermore, Augustine insisted that we are not capable of living a sinless life on our own but that, instead, it is only the grace of God which enables us to grow and change and become more Christlike.

So, what does this all have to do with New Year’s Eve? Well, a few things. First off, the fact that you find it so hard to do the good you want and avoid the bad is because of the brokenness of your human nature. It’s not you yourself that’s somehow worse than everyone else. We were created good, but from the beginning humanity has chosen poorly. So, it’s  not surprising that few resolutions last much past those first weeks of January.

And if you are doing a New Year’s Resolution because you view yourself as deficient, or somehow less than… I’d caution you against that. I mean, remember, despite our inner will being somewhat broken, God looks at you and declares you as beloved. Yes, God looks at you, with all your struggles and failures, and loves you precisely as you are. There is nothing you can do to make God love you less, and there is nothing you can do (including keeping all those resolutions) to make God love you more. 

Now, at the same time, resolutions to change your life, not only at New Year’s but anytime, these are a fundamental part of Christianity. Christianity is indeed about all of us trying to be more like Jesus. But changes in your life come after you are able to accept how much God loves you, that God forgives you when you fail. 

It is when we exit the shame spiral that we so often put ourselves in, that we are able to approach resolutions differently. Because then you are approaching your resolutions, not just with the resolve of your own will, kind of white-knuckling it, but instead you are approaching your resolutions with the grace of the Holy Spirit active in your life, strengthening your will when it becomes weak. 

You cannot do this on your own. But with the grace of God working within you, and with a supportive community of faith that calls out the best in you, you can, little by little, bit by bit, become more like Jesus, become more merciful, more just, and more faithful. The trick isn’t to try harder, though. The trick is to open yourself more fully to God’s love and grace, and to trust that God’s love and grace truly are enough. 

Thanks for being with me. To find out more about my parish, you can go to sjegh.com. Until next time, remember, protest like Jesus, love recklessly, and live your faith out in a community that accepts you but also challenges you to be better tomorrow than you are today.