Are resolutions effective?
By Nicole Henry
Jonathan Edwards was a resolution maker. In 1722, the year when he began his list of life resolutions, he was close to beginning his nineteenth year. To put that into perspective, my oldest son is ten days away from 21, my oldest daughter is 19, my second son is 17, and my second daughter is 14. I am 48. Edwards was NINETEEN when he was invited to leave his home in the Connecticut River Valley and pastor a church located in the thriving metropolis of New York City.
It seems startling young to our modern sensibilities, but back when the United States was just a collection of ragtag British Colonies, and shortly after the end of Queen Anne’s War (or the War of Spanish Succession if you’re a European reading this), in fact, up until pretty recently, young men of nineteen years were considered men, not teenagers, and pastoral appointments of men so “young” were not unheard of.
The First Great Awakening, during which Edwards would rise to prominence alongside his contemporaries, Gilbert Tennent and George Whitefield, was still a decade away, and his famous sermon, Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God, wouldn’t be written until 1741, but Edwards, on the cusp of a monumental life change, put his pen to paper and began to write. It’s believed that the first of what would become 70 resolutions was written sometime between August, when he arrived in the city, and December of 1722 – the earliest date we read in the document, attached to resolution #35, is December 18, 1722; the last, #70, is August 17, 1723.
I try to imagine what it could have been like for him, leaving the quiet comforts of New Haven, Connecticut for the hustle and bustle and drama of the big city – New York had a population of around 10,000 at that time – to shepherd a faithful flock of Presbyterians who found themselves on the small side of a church split. Church splits are breeding grounds for all kinds of pernicious sins: gossip, bitterness, hurt, jealousy, anger – you name it! I can see him reeling from the high energy and emotion and retreating into his rooms with his Bible and his notebook for reprieve and refreshment. I can hear him entreating the Lord to help him lead well, live well, and love well. I can see him sitting down at his desk, blank paper before him, quill raised and ready; resolute in his determination to honor God with his whole being but needing to somehow catalog his desires toward godliness so that when he was overwhelmed by the rigors of life, he could turn to them and remember and be redirected to what truly mattered: holiness, service, suffering, discipline – all to the glory of God.
It took him a year to write them all down. Some are dated, but most are not. Some were probably well thought out beforehand, others scribbled down in haste after a particularly taxing moment. I imagine him writing #5: “Resolved: Never to lose one moment of time, but to improve it in the most profitable way I possibly can.” after either wasting his own time in some useless endeavor and feeling remorse about it, or perhaps witnessing one of his congregation wasting their lives in worthless pursuits. I wonder if he wrote #20: “Resolved: To maintain the strictest temperance in eating and drinking.” (this sounds familiar!) after a particularly rich meal left him uncomfortable, bloated, and regretful, or #15 “Resolved: Never to suffer the least motions of anger towards irrational beings.” after being stung by a vicious hornet – you know the kind - or being the victim of an irate, verbally abusive, out-of-control parishioner.
Regardless of the circumstances under which each was written – we can create scenarios until the cows come home - his list was finished in August of 1723, about three months after his tenure in New York. He returned to Connecticut to pastor another church for a short time, then in 1724 became a tutor at Yale College. Two years later he was apprenticing at the side of his maternal grandfather, Solomon Stoddard, whose pulpit he would inherit in 1729. He was married to Sarah Pierpont in 1727, with whom he raised twelve children. His life was relatively short - he died at only 54 years of age - but filled to the brim with service, sacrifice, ministry, and devotion to God and his family. I think everyone would agree that he embodied his 6th resolution: “To live with all my might, while I do live.”
And so, here it is January 1, 2022. A new year filled with hope and expectation and opportunities! I am no Jonathan Edwards, but I like to think that he wouldn’t mind me borrowing a few of his, and even adding some of my own, which I will list below.
I will begin with Edward’s own prelude:
“Being sensible that I unable to do anything without God’s help. I do humbly entreat Him, by His grace, to enable me to keep these Resolutions, so far as they are agreeable to His will, for Christ’s sake.”
Resolved: To put my phone down more often than I pick it up.
Resolved: To speak kindly to my husband and children more often than I speak harshly.
Resolved: To practice self-control more often than self-indulgence.
Resolved: To move around more often than I sit.
Resolved: To practice gratitude more often than complaining.
Resolved: To choose joy more often than despair.
Resolved: To enjoy nature more often than technology.
Resolved: To embrace trials as gifts more often than as burdens.
Resolved: To practice peace more often than engendering chaos.
What about you? What are you resolved to do this year?
