THE BALANCE OF BEING AND DOING IN THE

THE BALANCE OF “BEING” AND “DOING” IN THE BELIEVER’S LIFE

WHY DO NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTIONS FAIL? New year’s resolutions are impotent by themselves in creating change. Why? Because they epitomize the saying, “If you always do what you have always done, you will always get what you have always gotten. A new year’s resolution by itself has no mechanism for change.

N A I T E S I E U G R K G N T H I I C AB IN M A Y O N G D E N H IL C A N C L O U N E B Y E E ER E B H F T IF E D AV H OR F H T

THE ANSWER Good habit building! Learning the discipline of how to create good habits in one’s life can help make permanent and wonderful changes that will assist you in fulfilling God’s plan for your life.

WHAT IS A HABIT? A habit is a repetitious action that operates as an automatic program in the mind. It is the result of doing the same thing over and over until it becomes cemented in the brain. Then the behavior no longer requires so much the willful choice as much as a person almost unconsciously performing the action.

WARNING! Learning the principle of good habit building is only a tool in spiritual development and does not constitute rightness and approval with God. Rightness with God comes from the finished work of Christ at Calvary, not our good works to which habit building is only the fertilizer.

D N A S E G S T A I S B S A A P NH E O M S O E S I. RS E V

DOES THE BIBLE ADDRESS THE TOPIC OF HABITS DIRECTLY AS WE SPEAK OF THEM? Not directly, but by piece mealing things together you can build a case for the importance of doing certain good things over and over until they become engrained in us. This is what we would call a habit today. In Biblical times, the closest related concept habit is the word custom or tradition.

GOD IS BIG ON THIS CONCEPT… So much of OT law relates to doing certain good things (habit building in our vernacular) over and over so they become almost automatic. A prime example is keeping the Sabbath (Exodus 20: 8 -11). This habit was so important that it was one of the ten commandments. We can extract from the Sabbath law the importance of good habit building in our lives.

HABIT AND CUSTOM ARE THE GREEK WORD ETHOS 25 not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near. Hebrews 10 42 And when He became twelve, they went up there according to the custom of the Feast [Passover]. Luke 2

ISN’T THE USE OF DEVELOPING GOOD HABITS TO BECOME A BETTER CHRISTIAN JUST A FLESHLY ATTEMPT TO MAKE CHANGE RATHER THAN TRUSTING GOD? 12 So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling; Philippians 2

ANSWER: NOT REALLY It is like God is pushing and we are pulling this thing called spiritual growth. Building good habits that further the Christian life is part of the way we work out our salvation with fear and trembling.

WE ARE ALL SLAVES, EITHER OF GOOD HABITS OR BAD HABITS, SO PICK YOUR MASTER! 12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts, 13 and do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. Romans 6

EXAMPLES OF BAD HABITS 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Smoking Overeating Curse words Watching too much TV Pornography

EXAMPLES OF GOOD HABITS 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Prayer Exercise Study habits Attending Church Giving financially to God’s work

THE HOLY SPIRIT WORKS IN OUR LIVES TO PRODUCE SELF-CONTROL’S BEST FRIEND IS GOOD HABITS. 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. Galatians 5

GOOD HABITS CAN FIGHT AGAINST OUR SINFUL HUMAN NATURE 15 For what I am doing, I do not understand; for I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate. 16 But if I do the very thing I do not want to do, I agree with the Law, confessing that the Law is good. Romans 7

O T W O A H II. ILD T U I B AB H D O O G

1. DETERMINE TO MAKE A DESIRED ACTION AN HABIT Pick a goal that you desire that would enrich your life.

2. PRAY ABOUT GOD’S STRENGTH By bringing the Lord into a new good habit, you acquire His strength and blessing. Without Him the habit is an act of the flesh on which false religion is built.

SOME PASSAGES ON GOD’S STRENGTH… 13 I can do all things through Him who strengthens me. Philippians 4 6 “Be strong and courageous, do not be afraid or tremble at them, for the Lord your God is the one who goes with you. He will not fail you or forsake you. ” Deuteronomy 31

3. START SIMPLE AND BUILD ON IT Use the 3 minute 30 day rule. That is, commit to doing the habit for at least three minutes a day for thirty days straight.

HOW DO YOU KEEP THE GOOD HABIT GOING? Understand that the keeping habit is more important than what the habit will bring you on any single day. Example, if you are as sick as a dog, still exercise, Even if you lie in bed and move one finger up and down ten times, that is okay. You can still check the box.

4. INSTILL A ROUTINE Personal performance is enhanced by routine. The military has made this a science. Use the same time, same place every day principle for your habit building.

YOU KNOW WHAT IS NEAT ABOUT A GOOD HABIT? If you miss doing a good habit you feel lousy about it! Most of us enjoy not feeling lousy so we tend to perform the habit.

5. REINFORCE WITH ACCOUNTABILITY AND SUPPORT AA and weight lost groups find a support group extremely important in changing behavior. Others building or breaking the same habit you are working on gives tremendous reinforcement.

Ask your community group to hold you accountable Or a single friend

6. RECORD THE EFFORTS AND SUCCESSES LIKE CHECKING A BOX Do you remember getting a gold star in kindergarten and how good it felt. Guess what? It still feels good today!

ARE THERE SOME THINGS THAT YOU ARE CAPABLE OF BUT JUST CAN’T DO? Imagine if a mafia hit man said that he would kill your family if in six months you didn’t lose fifty pounds. You would do it. So the question isn’t ability it is really motivation.

7. REWARD AND PUNISHMENT Another incentive in building a good habit is to reward yourself for keeping a habit or punishing yourself for breaking it.

Punishment

8. PROTECT THE HABIT AT ALL COSTS The keeping the habit alive is more important than the benefits of the habit. Illness, vacations, taking a few days off are the most common reasons you lose a good habit. Perform the habit every day even for a few minutes no matter what.