Personal Trainer, Christina, has seen all kinds of failed resolutions. Here's one resolution she says never fails.
It finally arrived.
The highly anticipated first day of the new year.
A fresh start, a do-over, a clean slate.
As I was on the stair climber, I scanned the crowded gym floor. (I love to people-watch as I do my cardio.) Members were highly focused and working hard. I could almost feel the determination in the air due to newly proclaimed New Year’s resolutions.
It was inspirational.
But having worked as a full-time personal trainer for almost 12 years, I knew all too well the predictable patterns of human behavior.
In time, motivation will dwindle, determination will fade, schedules get busy, and people get tired. Soon enough, their new year’s resolutions would fail.
Only a small percentage of gym goers will consistently use their membership long after January has passed, and even a smaller percentage (only 9%, according to a 2016 study) will stay committed to the resolutions they started long after the new year.
However fit the population appears to be with their defined arms and slim waistlines, many of these exercise and health enthusiasts are spiritually starved.
Craving a Fresh Start
What is it about the first day of the year or even the first day of the week that motivates us to start over again and try again?
I believe our hearts long for something better. Or that we innately know that we were created for so much more. We see illustrations of new birth or new life all around us.
Those blessed to experience all four seasons rejoice when the winter snow melts and green leaves bud on the trees. When a woman gives birth to a child. A caterpillar hides in a cocoon and emerges as a breathtaking butterfly. A sunrise gives hope for the new day ahead.
Scarlett O’Hara famously says in the classic movie Gone with the Wind, “After all, tomorrow is another day!”
We humans constantly crave a new beginning. But why?
Simply put sin.
Since the fall of Adam and Eve (Genesis 3), we are all born into a sinful nature. We put ourselves before others. We break promises. We hurt people both intentionally and unintentionally. No one person is exempt from this disease. And it separated us from God, who is holy and perfect. However, the One who is sinless can redeem us. There is One who was born to reconcile us.
In Colossians 1:21, Paul writes, “Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation….”
Physically Fit, Spiritually Starved
I live in Los Angeles. The fitness capital of the United States.
From Muscle Beach in Venice to celebrity trainers in Hollywood, the fitness industry thrives here.
However fit the population appears to be with their defined arms and slim waistlines, many of these exercise and health enthusiasts are spiritually starved, not knowing Jesus.
Many are morbidly obese with overconsumption of self, obsessing over their looks, buying expensive beauty products or material possessions to appear happy and successful.
The religion of comparison is rampant, and it is a religion that always leads to misery.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying we should feel condemned for wanting to take care of ourselves or look good.
The desire for physical improvements in and of itself isn’t necessarily a bad thing. It’s the motivation behind it that matters.
On the flip side, we shouldn’t neglect our bodies or dismiss our physical health as an unimportant temporal thing. That can be a slippery slope as well.
We can only make healthy resolutions about our bodies if we see our bodies as God sees them.
According to God, our bodies are valuable. In fact, they are “fearfully and wonderfully made.” (Psalm 139:14). When we are reborn through faith in Jesus, our bodies actually become the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 6:19).
The people who are obsessed with their health and perhaps even achieve their resolutions have something in common with those who fail. Both groups will always be unsatisfied.
As King Solomon wisely wrote in Ecclesiastes 2:11, “Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun.”
We can only make healthy resolutions about our bodies if we see our bodies as God sees them.
A Matter of the Heart
So, how do we determine our New Year’s resolutions from a Biblical perspective? How do we take care of our bodies, honoring God without obsessing or neglecting them?
To answer these questions, I would refer you back to the letter to the Colossians, “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men” (Colossians 3:23).
Notice it says whatever you do. So, when trying to determine your New Year’s resolution or a new goal, put the Lord first. If it pleases the Lord, it is a good thing.
Many Bible historians believe the ancient city of Corinth was like present-day New York, Las Vegas, or Los Angeles. The believers in Corinth must have had to fight the temptations of materialism, sexual promiscuity, and a general lack of morality. Paul’s letter encourages the Corinthians to hold onto their faith in Christ to focus on the eternal and not the superficial.
“So, we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” (2 Corinthians 4:18.)
In the same way, I encourage you to find a goal that is unseen and eternal.
This year, my resolution is to be bolder and more intentional about sharing Jesus with my nonbeliever clients. Though my clients often come to me first to improve their physical health, I know that their spiritual fitness is even more important.
I want to pray before each training session, asking the Holy Spirit to guide my lips with words that will bring them closer to God. I ask God for more confidence to speak the truth when the timing is right. I want to study His Word more, so it can overflow into my conversations with clients.
Kingdom Driven Goals
Now it’s your turn to set goals with a heart for the Kingdom and a desire to please Jesus.
“For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit, because anyone who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and approved by men.” Romans 14:17.
I hope these ideas inspire you:
–Go to bed earlier so you have more energy to serve God or have quiet time with Him as you watch the sunrise. (More sleep improves health issues, repairs and builds muscle. Sleep can be healing!)
–Pause and thank God for your food before you eat. Eat slowly and gratefully. (It takes you 20 minutes to know when you’re full!)
–Get organized and declutter to improve stress levels and donate unwanted items to your local community
–Build strength and endurance by lifting weights. You never know when God may call you to help someone weaker than you, and you always want to be ready.
– Read and study God’s Word, -even if just one verse, after all it is a part of our armor- the sword of the Spirit
–Pray and breathe. (There is scientific evidence that these two things can alleviate depression and anxiety.)
And remember, whatever goal you set for yourself, the greatest Trainer of all will be right by your side. And when you fail, He’ll pick you back up so you can begin again.
Remember good ol’ Peter when he started walking on the water toward Jesus and then became afraid and began to sink? Jesus immediately reached out his hand (Matthew 14:31).
He will do the same for you.
Christina Barkley is a Platoon 30 RevX Instructor. She began her personal training career in 2012 after God rescued her from a desk job in the entertainment industry. Christina loves lifting heavy weights with perfect form and is driven to instill confidence in women of all ages to do the same for their confidence and longevity. She lives in Redondo Beach, CA, with her husband Seth (who is also a personal trainer) and her two rescue dogs, Henry and Clara.
