Have you ever had a bad habit? Umm…OK. Let me re-phrase that: How many bad habits do you have? I know that the phrase “bad habits” can mean different things to different people. Let me admit right off the bat that I am old-fashioned, so you won’t be surprised when I say that when I was growing up biting your fingernails was considered a bad habit. Nowadays? Not so much. Wearing a hat indoors? Not on my head! But for others? They’d rather wear their hat (ignoring what they see as outdated etiquette) because they don’t want “hat hair”.

I want to suggest that it is a good practice to occasionally evaluate our habits, both good and bad. But how do we evaluate our habits if society and culture have such widely differing opinions? Again, you won’t be surprised when I encourage the use of the Bible as our standard. I recognize that there are some examples in the Bible that don’t give an absolute standard for us, while there are others that give simple, clear standards. An example of a not-so-clear standard is found in 1 Corinthians 10 where Paul’s instructions about eating meat sacrificed to idols. He didn’t give an absolute prohibition, choosing rather to leave it to each individual’s conscience. Avoid it if it hurts your conscience; go ahead and eat it if it doesn’t hurt your conscience.

On the other hand, Paul gives quite explicit instruction in Ephesians 4.29 about our speech: “Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification…” (NASV). That makes it very clear about how we ought to speak to one another: words that encourage and build up rather than tear down and offend.

There are two books that have to do with habits that are very powerful which I have found to be valuable in my own life. One is Atomic Habits, by James Clear. The other is Power to Change, by Craig Groeschel. Each author approaches the topic from his own perspective and expertise, but they both come to the same conclusion: Some habits are good, some are bad; Some habits need to be cut out of our lives, others need to be reinforced.

Here is the point that I want you to get today: No habit should control you. Most people have habits that are so ingrained in their life that it just comes naturally, even if it is negative. So, it takes a plan to make the change from bad habits to good ones. Make decisions. Set goals. Tell others your plan and let them hold you accountable. Practice discipline. I know, I know, nobody likes discipline! That is, until they see the positive fruit from it!

Habits are fickle friends. Make the most of the good ones. Cut out the bad ones.

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Chuck Phillips Life Choices Christian Counseling, LLC LifeChoicesCLC@gmail.com LifeChoicesCLC.com

In addition to my first book, Becoming an Inviting Target: Steps You Can Take to Make Yourself More Loveable, be sure to watch for the release of my upcoming book: The Proverbial Man, A One Year Devotional for Men From the Book of Proverbs. Available on Amazon, around the 4th quarter of this year. Just in time for Christmas!