voices of faith

January 22, 2011 at 12:00a.m.

McClatchy Newspapers

Q. Is it all right for people of faith to make New Year’s resolutions?

The Rev. R.L. Baynham, pastor of Metropolitan Baptist Church, Kansas City, Kan.

A. Customs have a way of impacting the way we think and act. The custom of New Year’s celebration goes as far back as the Babylonian empire more than 4,000 years ago. Over the years, the celebration has changed or been modified to meet the common desires of many generations. The desire to change past failures and mistakes often drives us to look to the future with a fresh approach.

People of faith are no different; however, because we have faith, our desire is to follow the teachings ascribed to the Bible. The Bible provides the guidelines for fruitful living and the quality of life that helps us understand the principles of life and the keeping of commitments to those principles.

It would appear for some that making a resolution enforces the idea that he or she is more than capable of making every good, perfect choice for a life without God. However, we have seen that as a result of man’s choices, failure occurs.

Lama Chuck Stanford, Rime Buddhist Center & Monastery, Kansas City, Mo.

A. New Year’s resolutions are nice to make, but rarely do people follow through with them. Instead, I prefer to think of the new year as the time for a “fresh start.” All of us like, want and deserve a fresh start.

Many of us have gotten away from our spiritual practice. Many of us also have succumbed to one (or all) of the afflictive emotions. Sometimes it may seem like we are not making any progress at all. So, all of us need a fresh start from time to time.

Sometimes life gives us a fresh start whether we want one or not. Everything in this phenomenal world is impermanent, and nothing lasts forever. We should look upon these situations not as disasters but as opportunities to start anew.

What most of us don’t realize is that a “fresh start” is available to us in every moment. You don’t have to wait until New Year’s, because a fresh start is available to us in every breath.