 |
 |
| BAD HABITS |
| Over the years, I have watched several people in their attempts to quit smoking. All of them started out with some sort of game plan and a desire to rid themselves of a destructive habit. Some had pills, patches, low-nicotine cigarettes, gum, anything to help stem the onslaught of cravings. Others went "cold-turkey." No matter the pills or potions, all suffered through the well-known set of withdraws. They also discovered a problem, that they might not have expected. For years the same activity had kept them (and their hands) occupied and now they felt a need for something "to do." Inevitably, they would begin to eat and snack more. Often I've heard them complain that "I'm not really hungry, I just feel a need to do something with my hands." Odd how in trying to rid one bad habit, it becomes so easy to pick up another. In some ways, the life of a Christian can mirror this pattern. As we "lay aside every weight and sin," it becomes easier to pick up sins along the way. Our human nature seems a magnet for bad habits and we can make a bad habit out of almost any activity. I should explain that in this sense I am using the term "bad habit" to indicate anything that hinders our walk in Christ. Chatting with other Christian friends for example can be a wonderful support tool in a Christian's life. However, with just some minor adjustments in the conversation, it's easy to turn that "support network" into a "gossip network." Every time we act as talebearers we're slipping farther into a comfortable, old bad habit. This will interfere in our Christian lives. It's impossible to freely worship along side someone that you have been "discussing" with friends the previous day. This of course, brings a set of complications of it's own. How do you pray for your neighbor? If you catch them with tears in their eyes and really seeming to be earnestly calling out to God, does this verify your suspicions? So, perhaps we try to "give up" gossiping. Cold turkey even. Only chat about the Lord with other Christian friends and try to just keep our mouths shut at work. Believe me, a couple weeks of this can be a real strain. Withholding your own desires for even a little while can be quite difficult. Yet, a few more days go by and we are succeeding. In conversations we reprimand friends and keep one ear open for slight transgressions they need to be reminded of. As we "lay aside" the bad habit of gossiping, we began to pick up the habit of being a self-righteous judge. After all, having sacrificed "so much" gives us a sort of authority in God. Within two weeks, we feel like an elder in the church. So, one bad habit is replaced with another. Like a miserable dieter trying to give up bad foods, we can't resist telling others just how poor some of their choices are. This must be why Paul was so careful to exhort us to begin "laying aside EVERY weight and sin that doth so easily beset us." (Heb. 12 1-2)God knows it's not easy and often the times of greatest temptation are the times we are trying to sacrifice the most. Not because God is tempting us (indeed, God tempts no man) but because our fleshly desires are being put in check. This process takes time. The verse continues "and run with PATIENCE, the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith" We must be so diligent! Always taking stock of our thoughts and actions. Laying aside only part of our sin does no good. To lose one bad habit and pick up another is self-defeating. This is how a Christian can win the battle and still lose the war. |
 |
|
|
 |
 |
| by Cadi Nobles |