Echoes in Eternity

Dr. Dalrymple wrote a fun little poke at the seeming futility of New Year's resolutions last week.

Until she was well into her 80s, my mother used to make New Year's resolutions. I am not sure whether this indicates that hope, effort or self-deception spring eternal in the human breast. Or perhaps all three at once.
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Does there come a time in life when we wake from the dream of self-improvement, when we can accept with a good grace that our character, our habits and our tastes are fixed, and that this must be true of other people as well as of ourselves? One of my recurring New Year's resolutions is to remain calm, polite and good-humored in the presence of opinions that not only differ from mine but (what amounts to the same thing) are either stupid or wicked.

The problem is that no one seems willing to meet me halfway. So it is not really my fault if I cannot stick to my resolution.

I would add that, on a serious note, there is a lot of truth to this. Outside of Christ, Dr. Greg House is right, people never change. That's why it is all the more amazing when Jesus does change a life.