Realistic Expectations… not Resolutions
Happy New Year!!!
We are now 3 days into a new year. How many of us have already broken our New Year’s resolutions? Who is still going strong? How many just didn’t create New Year’s resolutions because we already knew we wouldn’t succeed.
I’ve been reading about some great men in the Bible. King David and King Solomon.
I came across this verse where David is giving charge and reign over to Solomon.
“I am about to go the way of all the earth,” he said. “So be strong, act like a man, and observe what the Lord your God requires: Walk in obedience to him, and keep his decrees and commands, his laws, and regulations, as written in the Law of Moses. Do this so that you may prosper in all you do and wherever you go and that the Lord may keep his promise to me: ‘If your descendants watch how they live, and if they walk faithfully before me with all their heart and soul, you will never fail to have a successor on the throne of Israel.”
1 Kings 2:2-4 NIV
Wow! What a lofty task and tall order for Solomon to accomplish.
Be Perfect?
That’s what David wanted for his son?
In short, yes. David wanted Solomon to live a life that was worthy for God. One where he would prosper. But also, “that the Lord may keep his promise to me.” Ahhh. There it is. The wee bit of selfishness that creeps in.
Being perfect wasn’t just about Solomon living a life worthy of God. No! It was about David’s honor being upheld. That his name, his bloodline, his honor, wouldn’t get tarnished.
How selfish of David to expect that of his son. Especially from a father that isn’t perfect himself.
Yet I think we can relate to this. We carry this Ideology around that our fathers (plural) have this expectation of us to be perfect. Both our earthly father and our Heavenly Father. However, our earthly father, like David, shows us quickly that they are not perfect.
Truth moment… (no judgement…. ok maybe a little)
For me I think the moment came when my wife came home from work one day and my 6-month-old was playing on the floor, and I was sleeping on the couch. I swear that I had just closed my eyes, and she has video proof that I was out cold. Whoops 😬 I can laugh about it now but was a pretty big dad fail moment then.
Even though we carry this ideal that our fathers expect us to be perfect, it’s a lot easier to not live into this perfection mindset when we see how imperfect they are.
But our Heavenly Father, well, he is perfect.
And so then being perfect for him is this constant striving, achieving, yearning to be better, do more, be perfect.
But see in the verse it is not God tasking Solomon to be perfect, it is King David. God isn’t looking for us to be perfect.
We can’t be and he knows that.
That’s why he sent Jesus.
The Human One!
Jesus accomplished what Solomon and every other figure in the Old Testament could not. Jesus perfectly fulfilled the law of God.
“He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth.”
1 Peter 2:22 NIV
This is great news.
This is freedom from perfection.
Doesn’t mean we can’t strive for it. Or work to attain it. But setting goals, expectations and building our lives on an idol of perfection or failure, we can tear those things down.
As I enter this new year I’m focused on progress over perfection.
Relationship over religion.
Realistic expectations over New Year resolutions.
What are your focuses for the new year? Share them with us here. We would love to hear your stories.
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