Should Christians Make New Year's Resolutions?

January 1, 2013 - A week into 2013 many will say their New Year’s resolution is already “so last year.” How about you? Have you made one (or many) resolutions in the past? Have you abandoned them after a week of trying?

A quick glance at social media shows that some Christians wonder if they even should be making resolutions. Are you one of them?

If so, take comfort in the words and wisdom of Billy Graham who has responded to a number of questions about that annual ritual in his My Answer columns through the years.

Questions about New Year's Resolutions

If you could make just one New Year's resolution for the coming year, what would it be? I used to make a long list of New Year's resolutions every year, but I only got discouraged because I never kept them so I've decided to concentrate on just one this year.
Read Billy Graham's Answer »

Does the Bible say anything about making New Year's resolutions? I quit making them years ago because I never could keep them, but now that I'm more serious about my faith I wondered if I ought to give it a try again.
Read Billy Graham's Answer »

The other day, a friend asked me how many of my New Year's resolutions I'd managed to keep, and I had to admit that I'd forgotten all about them. He admitted that this had been his experience, as well. Why do we have so much trouble changing our behavior?
Read Billy Graham's Answer »

One of my New Year's resolutions this year was to read some of the Bible every day. But like most of my resolutions, I've failed to keep it. I found some of it interesting, but I didn't really understand most of it, so I stopped. Was I doing something wrong?
Read Billy Graham's Answer »

I've about decided I'm not going to make any New Year's resolutions this year. I've always done it, but I don't think I've ever managed to keep a single one more than a few weeks. Why should I bother?
Read Billy Graham's Answer »