SpringCleaning! Bad Habits – March 20

SpringCleaning!
March 20,  2021

Bad Habits

Proverbs 5:21-22, ‘For God sees everything you do, and His eyes are wide open as He observes every single habit you have. Beware that your sins don’t overtake you and that the scars of your own conscience don’t become the ropes that tie you up (TPT).’

Webster says a habit is an acquired behavior pattern regularly followed until it has become almost involuntary.

So I think of this today while I clean another corner and take out some garbage. I get it; actually. I have some good habits and I have some bad habits also. Some habits, I believe are neither bad nor good they are just a series of chain reactions day after day.

This time of year, I rise early, and then walk through my home and turn on heat and the coffee maker and some subtle lighting and crawl back in bed and let my home wake up too before I assault it with my needs. I sit with Jesus and my cup of coffee before I get into it with my day. I build a fire at about 5 pm and I don’t turn on the TV ‘til everything else in the day is complete. I have certain habits that dictate my movement throughout each day.

I now realize they are patterns. I could cut out a copy of my pattern for each day, much like my mom used to cut out patterns that she sewed my daughters dresses by. The old copy and paste. This is a pattern I follow. For some it even becomes ritualistic. Habits can be good as well as harmful. The cool thing is, it’s up to us to determine how our habits are formed and how we choose to use them. With a good model and a mentor as described below you can easily achieve healthy habits:

“Stephen Covey in his book, ‘The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People’, defines a habit as knowledge (why and what to do), skill (how to do) and desire (want to do). It means that to develop a habit, you must consider all three components: to study the theoretical model, to learn how to put it in practice, and to find the motivation for its use.”

While we are wandering through our hall of habits these next couple of days, remember we can make healthy and good habits that we can follow for ourselves. Praise and worship, prayer, thanksgiving, humility are all habits we can adopt, and adapt, to our lifestyles. And He thought of us first. Before the foundation of the world was laid in place, He already made forgiveness and acceptance, love and grace His habit toward His children. His habit is you and me.

Psalm 64:9-10, ‘Everyone sees it. God’s work is the talk of the town. Be glad, good people! Fly to God! Good-hearted people, make praise your habit (MSG).’

Psalm 130:3-4, ‘If You, God, kept records on wrongdoings, who would stand a chance? As it turns out, forgiveness is Your habit, and that’s why You are worshiped (MSG).’

Come with me in March and let’s clean house!
If you are anything like me, you have kept some things around far too long
and now they got to go! And with the Lord’s help, they can!