Is there something in your life that you know you should stop... and yet don't?For instance...
- "I know I'm addicted to caffeine, but come on - who isn't?"
- "I have this... um... 'habit' - that I can't seem to stop."
- "This is just something I do. I'm not hurting anyone... it's harmless."
- "I'd give it up if I could... but I can't."
I know these statements. I've said similar ones at different points in my life, too.
We're about at that point in January when the New Year's resolutions seem to be fading away. Perhaps you've given up and concluded you just have to accept the habits and won't ever be able to conquer them.
I'm not a psychologist - I don't even play one on TV. But I am someone who wants to encourage you that there is life and promise in Jesus Christ. I'm not even sure why I'm sharing this, except maybe that someone out there needs to read that truth and claim it.
Habits are less about our choices and more about how we view God and ourselves. If the biggest thing in our lives is our habit, then we will always fail. If the biggest thing in our lives is God, though, there is victory available. It requires surrender, trust, and continued prayer... not to mention a good group of friends who will pray you through each day.
So I guess that's about it. I just had the sense like it needed to be said... maybe for you or someone else.
Maybe just me.
"...and you have been given fullness in Christ, who is the head over every power and authority." (Colossians 2:10)
7 comments:
me too.
The best news I heard in a long time was yesterday there was this report I heard that coffee is actually a health benefit, then my wife tells me that she heard a similar report about diet coke, both I am clearly addicted to, I am looking for a report about blogging addictions being a health benefit, help anyone?
I think there are struggles every man or woman faces, but we are too ashamed to admit it. We are quick to talk about our physical infirmities, but not our spiritual ones.
ian - I think the eyeglass industry benefits from the time we spend staring at a screen. So that must be one upside... for them, at least.
logan & cr - you're right... it's a lot easier to overlook the internal stuff versus the easily identifiable issues. That's why God gave us each other.
What if our habit was christ?
Sometimes the only way to kick a bad habit is to replace it with a Good Habit. what if we were constantly Thinking about God, developing a habit of saying thanks, i love you, im sorry etc...?
That's a great question! I think at times we can create a version of Christianity that ends up being nothing more than a collection of habits. Instead of becoming a new creation, we simply add new habits to our old nature.
The problem is that in the end all the good deeds in the world still leave a spiritual void in us. The Scripture speaks in Colossians about how through Jesus God needs to be in us, versus in the Old Testament when He was "with" us.
If you are a Christian, your habits will follow. But if you have Christian habits, it means nothing in relationship to having Jesus in your life.
Deep down inside I think we know the difference, but it's a lot easier to have the appearance of change than to actually surrender and allow God to change us.
Good sound thoughts here. My New Year's Resolution was to live with passion. It hasn't faded away yet, but I've still got a long way to go! I must break my habit of living in complacency.
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