Building Habits

Normally, today, when people talk about their habits, they are talking in the negative - compulsive behavior that they want or need to shed such as smoking, drinking, gambling, overeating, etc. The desired action generally associated with them is that of breaking or controlling.

But a habit is not particularly good or bad, it is simply repetitive behavior.  It is the behavior that carries moral weight, not the frequency.  For instance, chewing your nails is generally seen as a bad or at least annoying habitual behavior, while chewing your food is a healthy part of proper nutrition.

The reason I am pointing out this distinction is because relegating habits to the negative side of human behavior prevents us from focusing on the positive side of building good habits.  Since habits can be good or bad, it would seem important to create as well as dismiss habits.

To the point, how about replacing the habit of overeating with the habit of healthy eating?  Replacing smoking with deep breathing, gambling with giving, excessive alcohol with adequate water, gossip with praise, video gaming with Bible study?  

The Bible has this to say on the subject: "Do not give up the habit of meeting together, as some have done, but meet together to encourage one another and all the more so as you see the day approaching" (Heb 10:25).  Habitual church attendance?  Who would have thunk it?  Actually, a lot of Christians do not think about getting up Sunday morning and gathering with the Saints any more than they have to think about going to work Monday through Friday, they just do.

Think about this: What if we all built habits of consistent Bible study, regular prayer time, dedicated giving, daily quiet time and so on.  What if we made building spiritual, godly, biblical habits a foundational part of our lives?  What if we became habitually holy, righteous, thankful, prayerful, loving, etc.?  Jus' Askn.