It’s five days into January. How many of your New Year’s resolutions have already gone the way of the passenger pigeon, radio drama and penny candy?

If you’re at all like the average person, most, if not all, of your resolutions have begun to fade into oblivion, and the remaining ones will soon be on that same path. Every year, we get revved up with “personal improvement” projects as the dawn of a new year approaches. And in no time flat, those lofty goals and noble commitments evaporate and are forgotten.

That’s not to say we shouldn’t make resolutions, or have personal goals. Quite the contrary. It’s impossible to achieve anything if you have no target in mind: for example, it would be unlikely that your vacation would be much fun if you simply jumped in the car and started driving — without first selecting a destination, saving the appropriate funds, packing the items you’ll need for the trip, and determining the best route and mode of transportation. Success in any venture requires planning, preparation, and measurable, definable goals.

Too often, however, we set goals for ourselves — whether we call them “New Year’s resolutions” or some other name — without any real plan for reaching them. Sometimes the goals themselves are unrealistic: telling myself I’m going to be elected President this year would be rather fruitless for a host of reasons, not the least of which being that there’s no Presidential election in 2003. But more often, we fail to accurately assess what will be required to achieve our goals, including the effort and commitment involved.

Jesus taught an important lesson on this subject:

“For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it — lest, after he has laid the foundation, and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’

“Or what king, going to make war against another king, does not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? Or else, while the other is still a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks conditions of peace. So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple” (Luke 14:28-33).

The Lord’s point is that even the greatest goal — such as being a servant of Christ — is doomed to ruin if it’s not supported with the necessary resources. Deciding “I want to be a Christian” today does me little good if tomorrow I say, “This is too hard — I think I’ll quit.” Better not to make the commitment at all than to renege on a promise to God to be faithful to Him: “When you make a vow to the LORD your God, you shall not delay to pay it; for the LORD your God will surely require it of you, and it would be sin to you. But if you abstain from vowing, it shall not be sin to you. That which has gone from your lips you shall keep and perform, for you voluntarily vowed to the LORD your God what you have promised with your mouth” (Deuteronomy 23:21-23).

Our failure to perform as we should before God rarely, if ever, is the result of our inability to obey. Instead, as Solomon said, “Because of laziness the building decays, and through idleness of hands the house leaks” (Ecclesiastes 10:18). If our spiritual “house” is crumbling and plagued with a leaky roof, chances are excellent that the fault lies with the resident of the house being too lazy or complacent to set things in order. Our intentions may have been good — as illustrated by all those resolutions we made for ourselves, but never kept — but if we haven’t been diligent in following through…well, we know where the road leads that’s paved with those good intentions, don’t we?

For the Christian, self-examination should be a continuous process, not a meaningless yearly ritual (Galatians 6:4; 1 Corinthians 11:28; 2 Corinthians 13:5). We should set spiritual goals for ourselves, not just annually, but every day — and evaluate ourselves daily to see whether we’re progressing as we ought.

To do everything I can do today to advance the spread of the gospel and uphold God’s word: now there’s a resolution!