New Year’s Day usually makes us think of college football bowl games that have occurred all week. New Year’s resolutions often are forgotten within a few weeks, so they may seem pointless. But what if 2024 really brought something new? What if we were not just changing bad habits for good, but actually making significant changes?

It can be the psychological basis for second chance. That’s really the theological concept of the Christian religion. We call it salvation, but that word scares some people. Such dramatic changes usually occur over time.

So why is the concept of a second chance so important? For some people, it is the opportunity to overcome a lingering sense of guilt that just lingers on. It can be a problem long after the situation that caused the guilt. We call the solution forgiveness. We think of that as forgiving someone else. But it is equally important to forgive ourselves. A religious experience can be a quick way to do that.

Forgiveness can bring a clean slate. When a criminal gets out of prison, oftentimes it just becomes a recycle into an old pattern of criminal behavior. That’s why a criminal justice system of retribution doesn’t work. Incarceration works only when a person is rehabilitated while in prison. With a blot on your record, it can be hard to find a job or start a different way of making a living. Drugs and prostitution can be big money, and a big temptation. The church is supposed to offer the opportunity for a new start rather than condemnation.

The economists are good at explaining the past but poor about speculating for the future. Few predicted 2023 to be a banner year. Experts can offer lots of rationale of why people do things. After stating the basic fact, most reports about a crime speculate why a person did it --- what was their motivation? In the end, that really doesn’t matter. They can’t erase the deed.

The comedian Flip Wilson popularized the phrase, “The devil made me do it.” We like to make excuses or not accept responsibility for the consequences of our actions. In most cases, nobody makes you do something. A big step for the New Year would be to change your mindset. Rather than being focused solely on your own needs and wants, when you start to consider others that offers a whole new perspective on life. Good things start to happen. When you focus on helping others, you’re less likely to be paralyzed by the fear that drives so many angry people.

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