What Not to Resolve for 2011

As we are in the final days of 2010 many of us may be thinking about what resolution we want to make for 2011. Often these resolutions have to do with our health. Sometimes it is our physical well- being: losing weight, exercising more, eating healthier. Sometimes these resolutions are about our spiritual health: reading the Bible more often, spending more time in prayer, finding ways to serve others. We hope these resolutions will help train us to be healthier, better people.

But for those of you who have done any kind of sports training, you know that not all training is good training. As I've become involved in triathlon training I've found out how much I need to work on my swimming form. If I focus on swimming as hard or fast as I can without learning how to change my stroke, I will just reinforce poor form that will rob me of energy for the bike and the run. This kind of training will not be helpful to me. In fact it will hurt me by leaving me exhausted when I've only finished the first of three legs of the race. But if I focus on breaking down my swims into shorter distances where I focus on body position in the water while swimming more slowly I will train my body in proper form, allowing me to swim more quickly and efficiently. I need to unlearn bad habits so I can learn good ones.

The same holds true for our spiritual lives. Not all training is good training, even when our intentions are the best. Over the weeks to come I will be blogging through the book Good News for Anxious Christians by Phillip Cary. Concerned that Christians are becoming burdened with anxiety about techniques that allow us to give God control, find God's will, or hear God speak, Cary helps us see that these catchwords are not biblical, and that a truly biblical approach to the Christian life actually decreases our anxiety about being Christ's disciples. To give a taste of what is to come, here is Cary in his own words:

This book is about what we're getting wrong, why it's worrying us, and why we don't have to think and do what makes us so anxious. It's about seeing the invitations in God's word for what they are, so that our Christian life may be lived in cheerful obedience rather than in anxious efforts to get it right. On the negative side, it's about bad theology, the kind of theology that, when it is preached and taught and made a part of our lives, makes us worried and miserable. On the positive side, it's about why the things God has to tell us, even in his commandments, are good for us, how they free us from anxiety and strengthen our hearts to do is work with joy (p.xvi).

To whet your appetite some more, here are some of the chapter titles in Cary's book: Why You Don't Have to Hear God's Voice in Your Heart (Or, How God Really Speaks Today); Why You Don't Have to "Let God Take Control" (Or, How Obedience Is for Responsible Adults); Why You Don't have o "Find God's Will for Your Life" (Or, How Faith Seeks Wisdom). As we train in our lives of discipleship, may we train well. What resolutions regarding your Christian life would you like fulfill in 2011? What parts of your spiritual life make you anxious? Feel free to carry on the conversation by clicking the "comments" link below.