New Year’s 2024 Starts Today

What can make a new year a new year? Well, we need to look at New Year’s differently. Let me illustrate. 

Let's look at life differently and start anew again. Three engineering students were gathered in class to discuss the possible designers of the human body. One said, "It was a mechanical engineer. Just look at all the joints." Another said, "No, it was an electrical engineer. The nervous system has many thousands of electrical connections." The last one said, "No, it had to be a civil engineer. Who else would run a toxic waste pipeline through a recreational area?" Now, those are some different ways of looking at anatomy!

Last year was a difficult time for many people. I often say that troubled times can lead to troubled minds. So, let’s not call something new when it’s the same old stuff, only worse with more of it. Many people feel like this. “Today is the first day of the rest of your life, but so was yesterday, and look how you messed that up.”

When I think about New Year’s Day, I think about two things: starting new again and resolutions. Let’s investigate the old way of looking at resolutions. Here are the New Year’s resolutions of someone who writes, “I don’t like to brag, but I thought you would enjoy seeing the progress I have made.” See if you can relate. I know I did.

Here’s RESOLUTION ONE. 2017: I will get my weight below 180. 2018: I will watch my calories until I get below 190. 2019: I will follow my new diet religiously until I get below 200. 2020: I will try to develop a realistic attitude about my weight. 2021: I will work out five days a week. 2022: I will work out three days a week. 2023: I will try to drive past a gym at least once a week. 

RESOLUTION TWO. 2017: I will not spend my money frivolously. 2018: I will pay off my bank loan promptly. 2019: I will pay off my bank loans promptly. 2020: I will try to be out of debt by 2021. 2021: I will be totally out of debt by 2022. 2022: I will try to pay off the debt interest by 2023. 2023: I will try to be out of the country by 2024.

RESOLUTION THREE. 2020: I will try to be a better husband to Marge. 2021: I will not leave Marge. 2022: I will try for a reconciliation with Marge. 2023: I will try to be a better husband to Wanda.

Here are some mental road signs of truth about making the New Year new. 

Firstly, since New Year’s is about the future, think about your desired future. Don’t just respond to fallen emotional stimuli like your present distress or past missteps. Gaze at your desired future and glance at the present and past, not vice versa. You will never have peace when something is ruling over you that God created you to rule over. 

Secondly, 'Out with the old year, and in with the new year.' New Year's is when we often mentally start again to ring out the old and bring in the new. Changing the scenery won’t alter the story unless we rewrite the script within ourselves. That’s what that ball coming down in Times Square in New York City is all about. 

According to House & Garden magazine, some Italians have a New Year’s Eve custom that illustrates what I’m saying. The avenues are empty and quiet as midnight ticks closer. Everyone clears out of the streets, including the police. Suddenly, as clocks strike midnight, windows fly open, and family members toss out old pottery, dishes, furniture, knickknacks, and stuff they associate with bitter memories from the past year. 

Thirdly, people and things often respond to what you have done in the past. What is the inevitable outcome if you eat two slices of chocolate cake every night? If you use and abuse people over a long time, what is the inevitable result? Almost everything you are presently doing will affect your present or your future. Present decisions do create future events. 

Robert Murdock says, "Remember, as you make decisions today, some of them will bring pleasure today. But tomorrow, you will be miserable over those decisions. Some decisions may make you a little uncomfortable today. But tomorrow, you will be thrilled with the decision. Jesus could have called ten thousand angels to deliver Him from the crucifixion. He was capable of coming down off of the cross. But he decided he would not call the army of angels in the garden of Gethsemane, which created an incredible future. He was willing to endure a season of pain to create an eternity of gain." 

In other words, don't confuse your path with your destination. Just because it's stormy now doesn't mean you aren't headed for sunshine. 

If we reprogram our thinking toward making decisions that benefit our future, the start of each year presents a chance for the best year yet, even in uncertain times. We stop taking harmful journeys into yesterday by making wise, future-minded decisions today. What is uncomfortable today can create a more comfortable tomorrow. Make decisions that will create the future you desire. For example, when you forgive, you don’t change the past. You change your future. 

In other words, tomorrow’s “Happy New Year” starts today!