“And make straight paths for your feet, lest that which is lame be turned out of the way; but let it rather be healed. Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord: Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled.”
Bad habits are like comfortable beds—easy to get into but hard to get out of.
An elderly teacher, with a pupil by his side, took a walk through a forest. Suddenly he stopped and pointed to four plants close at hand. The first was just beginning to peep above the ground, the second had rooted itself pretty well into the earth, the third was a small shrub, while the fourth was a full-sized tree. The tutor said to his young companion, “Pull up the first plant.” The boy did so eagerly, using only his fingers.
“Now pull up the second.” The youth obeyed but found the task more difficult. “Do the same with the third,” he urged. The boy had to use all his strength to uproot it. “Now,” said the instructor, “try your hand with the fourth.” The pupil put his arms around the trunk of the tall tree and couldn’t even shake its leaves. “This, my son, is what happens with our bad habits. When they are young, we can remove them readily; but when they are old, it’s hard to uproot them, though we pray and struggle ever so sincerely.”
Someone once said, “Habits start out as cobwebs and end up as cables.” When a habit begins, it feels different and even sometimes awkward. Remember when you first learned how to ride a bike or how to tie your shoes? It took regular practice and determination to develop that habit.
A habit is developed through the repetition of a thought or action. The more you do something, the more permanent it becomes in your life. This can be a good thing or a bad thing. The more you read your Bible, the more permanent taking time to read the Bible becomes in your life. But on the other hand, the more you spend time in sin, the more permanent a sinful lifestyle becomes in your life.
How do you avoid sinful habits? Hebrews 12:13 says, “And make straight paths for your feet, lest that which is lame be turned out of the way; but let it rather be healed.” By keeping your path straight and your eyes focused on Christ, you can develop good habits rather than bad ones. God doesn’t expect us to be perfect, but He can help us break the habit of continually sinning.
We all have habits in our lives. Whether it’s what time we wake up in the morning or which route we take to work, we have daily patterns that we follow. So what are your habits? Have you fallen into some bad habits? Maybe a pattern of sin has overtaken your life and you don’t know how to fix it. Follow the guide in Hebrews 12:13, and set straight your course. Develop the habits and patterns God has laid out in His Word, and let Him give you the victory over the habit of continual sin. —By Dr. Paul Chappell
