Being almost March, it's great to see my gym empty back on out, so I can have more space & access to the equipment that I love using. (Just kidding - this isn't about me). But the question remains - How are you doing with your New Years resolution for 2018? Better health, more reading, ... whatever it is, it's done in our own strength, on our own terms, for our own personal gain & benefit. And that's probably why these fail - they're focused on "us".

Now, there's nothing is wrong with self-improvement, but resolutions tap into something that we should be careful with - "People will be lovers of themselves" [2 Timothy 3:2]. I know for me, before God changed my heart, I spent my life falling in & out of love with myself - looking for every reason to promote & praise myself, while still hating myself for every insecurity & failure. So, resolutions made for great annual rituals & sacrifices at the altar of "me".

Again, self-improvement is great, and can feel exhilarating & liberating, but they can also "band-aids over a bullet wound" where one can avoid deepening our relationship to Jesus. What good is a resolution (whether it gets traction or not) when we don't become closer to Jesus? What good is self-improvement when we fail to address our heart behind insecurity or guilt?

So, is there anything distinctly Christian about self-improvement? What makes Christian "self-improvement" any different than every other kind of health & wellness regimen? Our "self" is improved when it becomes a servant for others.

Although personally helpful, what is the real benefit in eating better, working out, or anything else, when it does little to serve others? Christian resolutions are not about self-preservation or self-fulfillment, but about increasing our ability to leave "us" out of reason why we do things.

God wants us to change & grow, to become better people, to mesomorph into the people that He sees us to be - the Bible is filled with scriptures supporting this. But you will be hard-pressed to find any scriptures that tell us to pursue our own growth in a way that doesn't affect other people. Instead, we find volumes on self-control & self-denial. The Bible isn't about "self-improvement" but more about "self-abandonment".

Even more so, look at this scripture:

As disciples, definitely improve yourself, but do it to love more - Work out to build strength & stamina, eat better to improve your health & energy, read more of the Bible... all so we can love more.

Discipline in Jesus’s name is always servant-hearted, not self-serving.