The Other Road
Friends, here we are, at the very end of the Christmas season: Epiphany. We’re also in a whole new year, 2026, and on the first Sunday of the new year I have a beloved annual tradition of researching what the top New Year’s resolutions were, and then sharing them with my flock.
All the information I’m about to share with you comes from a data collection group called Statista, the exact same researchers I quoted from last year. They surveyed 539 American adults between the ages of 18 and 80 in October and November of last year. Bear in mind, the numbers you’re about to hear won’t add up to 100 because some of the folks surveyed reported that they weren’t going to make any New Year’s Resolutions, and many folks gave a long list of resolutions that overlapped with other folks’ lists.
So–the top New Year’s Resolutions for 2026:
Exercise more (48%)
Save more money (46%)
Eat healthier (45%)
Spend more time with family and friends (42%)
Lose weight (31%)
Improve performance at work (24%)
Do more for the environment (24%)
Reduce work-related stress (22%)
People fascinate me. And how we change over time, and how we encourage one another to change, amazes me. It’s why I share these New Year’s resolutions statistics every year. I worried, early in my ministry, that this habit would become boring and repetitive, but I’m 14 years deep and I don’t feel that way yet, and I don’t think I ever will.
The first and biggest observation I made when I read these statistics: “quit smoking” didn’t make the list. When I was a younger minister, “quit smoking” was number one every single year, and I didn’t think that resolution would ever go anywhere. It was depressing, to be honest with y’all. Statista goes on to report that folks tend to drop their New Year’s resolutions quite quickly, which is no surprise to anyone who ever optimistically got a gym membership in January. Businesses like gyms and diet companies have long capitalized on year long membership contracts with folks who sign up in January because of a New Year’s resolution, and then go AWOL by Valentine’s Day. In fact, according to Statista, many of us don’t even make it that long, we report dropping our resolutions by the middle of January, and only 1% of respondents reported lasting a whole six months with their resolution. So, I’d see “quit smoking” at the top of the list every year, and I’d know that it wasn’t there because a whole new crop of folks decided to quit because they were so inspired by the folks who quit last year. It was the same people, year after year, trying, giving up, trying, giving up, over and over. “Cut back on drinking” didn’t make the list either, and that was nearly always number 2 on the list. During the pandemic, all the resolutions related to substance use dropped like hot potatoes right off the list as folks turned to higher rates of substance use to cope. The last few years, I’ve seen the “quit smoking” and “quit drinking” resolutions slowly crawl back onto the list, but now they’re gone again. We’ll see. It’s hard to stay optimistic and sober in a world like this one.
I was very struck that “do more for the environment” made this year’s list, because I’ve never seen that one show up before! In a day where we’re very concerned about climate change, younger folks are committing to being part of the solution, and that’s great, if we can stick with it. Fingers crossed. I’ve also never seen work related resolutions make the list, and this year we got two that might contradict each other–improve work performance, and reduce work stress. We’re getting worried about our jobs, at a time when unemployment is high and wages are low. Only time will tell where that goes.
If we can learn about some desperately needed long term commitment from anyone, we have the perfect examples in the magi, the stars (pun intended) of the Epiphany story. They lived somewhere in the Far East, Matthew wasn’t clear about where exactly, and they don’t show up in the other three Gospels, so Matthew’s account is all we have to go on. After Jesus was born, says Matthew, a very bright star appeared in the sky. These experts in astrology were so fascinated by this brand new discovery that they cared about nothing else. Single mindedly, they all left their home, on foot, and followed the star by eye until they could figure out its origin. I’m awe-struck by how non-technological this was. The magi were scientists, but they lived two thousand years ago. These days, we know, and have, so much that you could argue it works against us rather than for us. If NASA discovered an unnaturally bright star today, they’d follow it with telescopes, maybe send out some robots in space to get pictures, and make theories that I imagine would be about when it’s going to blow up, all without leaving their offices. We can do more now than we ever could, which is such a miracle, and I adore the pictures and videos captured from distant planets that were never possible before. But the magi of this story had none of that–no telescopes, no rovers, no phones to call other scientists, not even cars to drive to follow the star. They had only the most basic of tools at their disposal: their eyes to observe, and their feet to follow. And somehow, they filled in the gaps with wonder, curiosity, and a desire to connect with a mystery.
And they did it fearlessly. So fearlessly that they didn’t think twice about asking the long-reigning tyrannical king about the new baby rival king that they assumed the star was leading them to. PS, we also don’t know that there were three of them. We only know that they came all that way with three symbolic presents–gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Maybe they put the gifts together and put all their names on the whole set, since the gold was worth way more than the frankincense and myrrh.
In addition, though, to the basic tools of eyes that observe and feet that follow, the magi were also guided by minds that dream, and God warned them not to go back and visit Herod, not to tell him about Jesus. So they took another road.
What would our eyes observe in this new year if we could drop our grownup jadedness and think like the curious, trusting Magi? What would our feet follow if we stopped thinking about what we’re supposed to do, and instead did what felt right? Maybe we’d make resolutions about protecting the environment, finally, for the very first time? Maybe we’d keep those resolutions about spending time with friends and family all year, and get to December with stronger relationships? Maybe, where that work stress we’re more concerned about than ever is concerned, we’d trust our intuitions, and create safe work places for everyone?
But, more than anything, this year–I can’t ignore the headline that popped up in my newsfeed just yesterday, about the United States taking the President of Venezuela into custody, under suspicion of involvement in drug trafficking and organized crime. Our current President has announced that our government is “running Venezuela” in the absence of their President. There’s so much to unpack there, I’d have no clue where to start. I know so little, I trust even less, and the updates roll in by the hour. Where will this end? Who are the good guys, and who are the bad guys? What is true? What is just? I don’t know. Like the Magi, I have no advanced tools, they’re useless to me right now. I see something bright in the distance. I have eyes that see, and feet that follow. And, regardless of what I hear from the leaders of our nations, if God tells me what road to follow in a dream, I’m going to trust God over everyone else to lead me to righteousness and truth. And I hope you will, too. Because, at a time like this, that other, less traveled road, the one only God knows about, is the one and only way forward.
May we follow.
Amen.
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