What is the best New Year’s resolution a Christian can make? I can hear various believers making some now:

  • I will attend church more frequently.
  • I will read my Bible every day.
  • I will have a quite time every day.
  • I will stop using bad language.
  • I will be more patient.

Certainly, any of these would be wonderful resolutions, and all of them would move us in the direction of appearing to have Christian worldview. But the truth is, each of these express the Christian worldview only on a surface level. It is very possible to do any and all of these things and still not actually live out a Christian worldview.

The thing that causes an action to be an expression of the real thing is for it to actually express the beliefs of your life. In other words, it is not enough simply to do these actions, you must do them because you cannot imagine not doing them. They become who you are.

Your worldview reflects your actions and thoughts at the level of what you are inwardly compelled to do and believe.

  • The reason for attending church is not to do a good thing, but to stand in the presence of God with your spiritual brothers and sisters to lift up worship to him.
  • The reason for reading your Bible or having a quiet time every day is not to have a good spiritual habit, but to hear God’s voice and personally interact with him.
  • The reason for not using bad language is not to make you more spiritual, but because you are constantly eliminating all unholiness out of your life.
  • The reason for being more patient is not to be seen as a nicer person, but because you are constantly working to conform your own life to the very character of God.

The best New Year’s resolution you can make is to daily give yourself to God and conform yourself to his image. God is not trying to get you to do certain things. Rather, he is trying to get you to become a certain kind of person – one that reflects his holiness. That is what the sanctification element of salvation is all about.

I pray for you this year that you will not only come to know more about who God is, but that you will know him more intimately. To the degree you do, you will approach taking on a Christian worldview in your life.