HABITS
Any
act often repeated soon forms a habit; and a habit allowed steady gains in
strength. At first it may be but as a spider's web, easily broken through, but
if not resisted it soon binds us with chains of steel.
Tryon
Edwards
Failure to
establish good spiritual habits will lead to poor spiritual health.
Author Unknown
First we
build our habits; then our habits build us.
Good habits
are hard to acquire but easy to live with. Bad habits are easy to acquire but
hard to live with.
Author Unknown
Habits
are the thought and emotional patterns engraved on our minds. These internal
habit patterns play just as forceful a role as external influences on our
actions – in fact, perhaps more so.
Jerry Bridges
Copied
from The Pursuit of Holiness by Jerry Bridges, © 1996, p. 132. Used by
permission of NavPress – www.navpress.com. All rights
reserved.
Because we are sinful by nature, we have
developed sinful patterns, which we call habits. Discipline is required to break
any habit. If a boy has developed the wrong style of swinging a baseball bat,
he cannot just decide to change instantly. He has developed a certain habit,
and much discipline – much correction and training – is required to break that
bad habit and develop a new one. In the same way, our patterns of disobedience
to God have been developed over a number of years and are not broken easily or
without discipline. Discipline does not mean gritting your teeth and saying,
“I’ll not do that anymore.” Rather, discipline means structured, planned
training. Just as you need a plan for regular Bible reading or study, so you
need a plan for applying the Word to your life.
Jerry Bridges
Copied
from The Pursuit of Holiness by Jerry Bridges, © 1996, p. 100-101. Used by
permission of NavPress – www.navpress.com. All rights
reserved.
Jesus
said, “Any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple”
(Luke 14:33). We must honestly face the question, “Am I willing to give up a
certain practice or habit that is keeping me from holiness?” It is at this
point of commitment that most of us fail. We prefer to dally with sin, to try
to play with it a little without getting too deeply involved.
Jerry Bridges
Copied
from The Pursuit of Holiness by Jerry Bridges, © 1996, p. 91. Used by
permission of NavPress – www.navpress.com. All rights
reserved.
Principles
in breaking sinful habits and acquiring new ones:
1. Habits are developed and
reinforced by frequent repetition.
2. Never let an
exception occur.
3. Diligence in all
areas is required to ensure success in one area.
4. Don’t be discouraged
by failure
Jerry Bridges
Copied
from The Pursuit of Holiness by Jerry Bridges, © 1996, p. 133-134. Used by
permission of NavPress – www.navpress.com. All rights
reserved.
The strength
of a man’s virtue should not be measured by his special exertions, but by his
habitual acts.
Blaise Pascal
Habit is
overcome by habit.
Thomas a Kempis