A boy was running along a beach gathering up the best seashells he could find. As he bent down to pick up a certain shell, he caught sight of the biggest, most beautiful shell he had ever seen. It was just ahead of him as he made his way up the shoreline. The boy thought to himself, “I won’t go and get that one right now. I’ll just keep making my way to it, picking up shells as I go.”

So, he continued along with his collecting, making steady progress toward that big, beautiful shell. But what happened just as he got to the shell? A huge wave came crashing into the shore and took the shell back out to sea.

Each New Year’s Day most of us make certain resolutions. Truth be told, though, those resolutions typically don’t get kept. And when the next New Year’s Day comes crashing upon the shores of our lives and recedes back out into time, it takes with it all of those big, beautiful resolutions that were still lying there.

That brings us to the link between New Year’s Day and Christianity. For the Christian, New Year’s resolutions often take on a spiritual connotation. For example, the Christian might commit to read the Bible more, pray more, give more, or attend church more. While such resolutions are fine in and of themselves, there is one thing that every Christian needs to understand: If a resolution becomes a “vow” to God, that puts it into a much more serious category. Consider the words of Ecclesiastes 5:4-5:

When you make a vow to God, do not delay to pay it; For He has no pleasure in fools. Pay what you have vowed – better not to vow than to vow and not pay. (N.K.J.V.)

Christian, keep this passage in mind this New Year if you plan to make any spiritual resolutions that might be considered vows to God. I’m not telling you not to make such resolutions, but I am pointing out that God’s word does have something to say on this subject. Because of that, if you are going to go down that road, be sure that you are honestly prepared to travel it to its end.