Jason Gardner encourages us to get spiritually fit

There's a top ten for everything these days. Top ten actors of all time, Top Ten kid's TV programmes, Top Ten novelty pop songs and of course Top Ten new year's resolutions - those desperate vows often made to excuse Xmas excess - of course you can have another mince pie, in the new year you're going to get abs that would put Arnold Schwarzenegger to shame.

In no particular order then the 'most common' resolutions are:

• Get organized


• Help others


• Learn something new


• Get out of debt


• Quit drinking


• Enjoy life more


• Quit smoking


• Tame the bulge


• Fit in fitness


• Spend more time with family and friends

All very admirable, all very manageable, and nearly all certainly forgotten by the time February kicks in. We all seem to concur though that although we know the chances of us carrying on a resolution are slim, new year wouldn't be new year without drumming up some kind of ambition, however non descript (like 'enjoy life more') for the next 12 months.

Apparently we've got the Romans to blame for this particular tradition. Although the ancient Babylonians used to have eleven day long parties around new year it was the myth of the Roman god 'Janus' that really brought 'New Year' and 'resolution' together. Janus was the god of transitions and change and the 'warden' of gates - a job made all the easier by the fact he had two faces - one looking forward and one looking backward. Hence we get 'January' from Janus, and New Year's eve has become a time of looking back over the year that's been and looking forward to the year to come.

So what will your resolution be this year, fancy one from the list? Or has it always been your desire to take up knitting or paragliding? Chances are, whatever it is according to one study, 67 percent of us will have given it up after a couple of months. As you can imagine there are all sorts of websites dedicated to helping you make sure your resolution sticks. Lots of buzz coaching words like 'personal plan' and 'long term strategy' are used all in an effort to bolster your commitment.

So it seems like the success of our resolutions depend, well, on our resolve. The problem is, as always, 'no pain no gain' inevitably those things that do us most good require more than a modicum of sacrifice and self denial. In an age of consumer convenience doing things the hard way just seems too hard. There's an episode of the Simpsons where Bart gives up playing the electric guitar after finding out he wasn't good at it straightaway. Homer consoles him 'If at first something seems too hard, give up. It's the American way.' Mind you Homer also coined the maxim 'Trying is the first step towards failure.'

Homer wouldn't have been too keen on the Apostle Paul's attitude in the New Testament. As Graham Tomlin writes in his book, Spiritual Fitness. Christian character in a consumer culture Paul was no stranger to keep fit jargon when it came to advocating a life spent improving our relationship with God. So in 1 Corinthians 9 Paul urges us to 'run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes in to strict training.' And the writer of Hebrews echoes Paul 'Solid food is for the mature who by constant use have trained themselves (the greek word is gymnazo from which we get gymnasium) to distinguish good from evil.' For Paul the Christian life wasn't about being content with hanging around on a plateau but about disciplining ourselves so we can run uphill further and deeper into our understanding and love of God.

A colleague at work recently joined a gym. The personal trainer sat him down and said, 'What are your goals? What do you want to accomplish? What are the obstacles in your way that'll stop you achieving this? This isn't going to be easy.' Jesus too never conned people into believing that following him was easy but he always, always communicated that the gain far outweighed the pain.

As Paul reminds us in 1 Timothy, spiritual fitness needs to be our year round resolution - will 2007 be the year we lose the 'flab' and get the spiritual equivalent of a six pack?

'Train yourself to be godly. For physical training is of some value but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.'