It’s a New Year to do the same old things
Every year at this time I remember back to the years I worked at the Nautilus Fitness Center. January was crazy. We would sale memberships by the dozen to all the New Year Resolutionist. They would come by the masses. A few would sign up for a 3 month membership to see if they would stick with it. The majority wanted the year or the two year contract. They were going to stick to their diet, workout everyday and become a more healthy person. I and every other instructor were happy to sign them up even though we knew many of them we would never see again.
The regulars hated January. There were so many people in the gym that they couldn’t get to their weight machines. They had to wait for the cardio machines. They were elbow to elbow in the aerobic
classes. There was even lines to the hot tub and steam room. Finding an empty locker was an adventure. Most knew this was only a temporary inconvenience and that soon they could have their gym back. They also understood that these were the guys that helped keep their membership fees from going up. The more people that paid membership dues without using the gym the more money the gym made and the less the gym had to charge its regulars. There was those who enjoyed complaining too. They said we needed a bigger gym, more equipment and we needed to limit our memberships.
The thing about January was it was filled with hope. Everyone of the new members hoped they would stick to their resolutions and become a healthier person. The gym owners hoped everyone would stay because that meant everyone would sing up for another contract after theirs expired. The regulars hoped the newbies would be gone soon. The staff hoped they could survive the longer hours and busier times. Even though everyone had different hopes they all still had hope.
February was the transition month. The majority of newbies made it through the month of January. Very few made it past February. So February began just as busy as January but slowly declined. By the end of February all that was left was the regulars and the few newbies that stuck to their resolution. Everybody could get back to doing the same old things.
I remember one guy who I signed up. He and I bonded because he was a PK like me. (A preacher’s kid for all those wondering.) He was older than me by several years but the PK bond still brought us together. He was married and wanted to shed the extra pounds the married life had given him. He came in the first week of January and was on fire. He was there 4 or 5 times a week in the beginning. He would use the cardio machines, the weights and I even talked him into take a few aerobic classes. He changed his diet and quickly began to see the results of his hard work. I thought he was going to be a regular. He made it past February but begin to loose steam. He dropped down to 3 days a week
and skipped cardio most days. He also was slowly returning to his old diet. He didn’t make it through March. I missed my PK friend.
The following January I was working on a Saturday. I had just come up to the office to escape the maddnesss on the workout floor. I was filing contracts when I heard a familiar voice. It was my PK friend or at least it looked him because there was a lot more of him now. He was ready to try it again. As we filled out the contract we talked about what went wrong. He said it all begin with ice cream.
He said as long as he kept doing everything he was supposed to do it was easy to stay on track. He was tempted to do other things but he was able to resist it until he was at a friend’s house. They had dinner there and for dessert they had pie and ice cream. He easily resisted the pie but ice cream was his favorite. He said it was just like High School all over with the peer pressure. It reminded of the first time he smoked a cigarette. Everybody was around him saying one time wouldn’t hurt. They were telling him how good it was and that one time wouldn’t get him hooked. Just like in high school with the cigarette he tried it and and just like in High School he was addicted. Once he tasted the sweetness of that ice cream he wanted more. Soon he was cutting corners on his diet until finally there was no more healthy eating but there was plenty of ice cream. Once the diet was gone his workouts soon followed. He told me that he just went back to doing the same old things. He was quick to point out he had learned from his mistakes and wouldn’t make them again. But he did. I don’t know if it was ice cream that got him but something did.
The same thing happens to us when we make a new commit to God. We eventually fall back into doing the same thing. New years come and go and so does our commitments, recommitments and our re-recommitments. We do good for a while but something pulls us back into the life we wanted to leave. How does it happen? We do the same old things and expect a different result. We think we can do this just a little and that just once but in reality it only leads us back to where we left. So can we ever keep our new commitments to God? Yes, but not by doing the same old things. We can't clean up one area of our life and think it will stay clean. We have to clean up our whole life so that every area becomes clean. We do this by realizing the scriptures tell us that there when ever there is a temptation God provides a way out, IF WE LOOK TOWARD HIM. The trouble is we try to do it on our own. And we fail. When we learn to look toward God then we will find that we can do new things and have new results. That is how we become a new creation in Christ. So with each new commitment this year look toward God for guidance and help. It is the only way to succeed with your new commitments. Trying to do it without God turns out as good as eating a BLT without the bacon. That's a very horrible thing.
Parting Thought: Every time someone comes up with a foolproof solution, along comes a more talented fool.
The regulars hated January. There were so many people in the gym that they couldn’t get to their weight machines. They had to wait for the cardio machines. They were elbow to elbow in the aerobic
The thing about January was it was filled with hope. Everyone of the new members hoped they would stick to their resolutions and become a healthier person. The gym owners hoped everyone would stay because that meant everyone would sing up for another contract after theirs expired. The regulars hoped the newbies would be gone soon. The staff hoped they could survive the longer hours and busier times. Even though everyone had different hopes they all still had hope.
February was the transition month. The majority of newbies made it through the month of January. Very few made it past February. So February began just as busy as January but slowly declined. By the end of February all that was left was the regulars and the few newbies that stuck to their resolution. Everybody could get back to doing the same old things.
I remember one guy who I signed up. He and I bonded because he was a PK like me. (A preacher’s kid for all those wondering.) He was older than me by several years but the PK bond still brought us together. He was married and wanted to shed the extra pounds the married life had given him. He came in the first week of January and was on fire. He was there 4 or 5 times a week in the beginning. He would use the cardio machines, the weights and I even talked him into take a few aerobic classes. He changed his diet and quickly began to see the results of his hard work. I thought he was going to be a regular. He made it past February but begin to loose steam. He dropped down to 3 days a week
The following January I was working on a Saturday. I had just come up to the office to escape the maddnesss on the workout floor. I was filing contracts when I heard a familiar voice. It was my PK friend or at least it looked him because there was a lot more of him now. He was ready to try it again. As we filled out the contract we talked about what went wrong. He said it all begin with ice cream.
He said as long as he kept doing everything he was supposed to do it was easy to stay on track. He was tempted to do other things but he was able to resist it until he was at a friend’s house. They had dinner there and for dessert they had pie and ice cream. He easily resisted the pie but ice cream was his favorite. He said it was just like High School all over with the peer pressure. It reminded of the first time he smoked a cigarette. Everybody was around him saying one time wouldn’t hurt. They were telling him how good it was and that one time wouldn’t get him hooked. Just like in high school with the cigarette he tried it and and just like in High School he was addicted. Once he tasted the sweetness of that ice cream he wanted more. Soon he was cutting corners on his diet until finally there was no more healthy eating but there was plenty of ice cream. Once the diet was gone his workouts soon followed. He told me that he just went back to doing the same old things. He was quick to point out he had learned from his mistakes and wouldn’t make them again. But he did. I don’t know if it was ice cream that got him but something did.
The same thing happens to us when we make a new commit to God. We eventually fall back into doing the same thing. New years come and go and so does our commitments, recommitments and our re-recommitments. We do good for a while but something pulls us back into the life we wanted to leave. How does it happen? We do the same old things and expect a different result. We think we can do this just a little and that just once but in reality it only leads us back to where we left. So can we ever keep our new commitments to God? Yes, but not by doing the same old things. We can't clean up one area of our life and think it will stay clean. We have to clean up our whole life so that every area becomes clean. We do this by realizing the scriptures tell us that there when ever there is a temptation God provides a way out, IF WE LOOK TOWARD HIM. The trouble is we try to do it on our own. And we fail. When we learn to look toward God then we will find that we can do new things and have new results. That is how we become a new creation in Christ. So with each new commitment this year look toward God for guidance and help. It is the only way to succeed with your new commitments. Trying to do it without God turns out as good as eating a BLT without the bacon. That's a very horrible thing.
Parting Thought: Every time someone comes up with a foolproof solution, along comes a more talented fool.
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