Do you ever wonder why you do certain things? There are a lot of things that we do every day almost without thinking. For example – we may put our shoes on the same way every day. We may cook certain foods the same way every time we prepare them. We have certain routines that we repeat like checking our email or starting a pot of coffee first thing in the morning.
We call these habits. Things we do regularly. They have become part of our lives. The dictionary defines a Habit as “a settled or regular tendency or practice, especially one that is hard to give up”. We all have some good habits like brushing our teeth or washing our hair. But we also have bad habits like eating too many sweets or leaving our dirty laundry on the floor.
One habit I had for many years was putting my baseball cap and my headphones on top of a shelf in our family room. It was easy to find them there when I went out for my morning walk and easy to leave them there when I returned from my walk. But, I didn’t realize how much this irritated my wife. She preferred to see the top of the shelf clean and clear when guests and friends visited our home.
It finally dawned on me that I should find a different place to store my hat and headphones. I discovered a shelf inside the coat closet in the hallway. I regularly used this closet in the winter to get a warm coat for my walk. So I decided to put my baseball cap, headphones, scarf and gloves on the shelf above the coats. This has developed into a new habit with all of my walking gear in the same place. It helps me get out the door more quickly and it has made my wife happier too!
There are several passages in the Bible that address the subject of habits. The Apostle Paul wrote that he had developed the practice or habit of being content in every situation (Philippians 4:1-13). He also warned people about the danger of bad habits (I Timothy 5:13 NIV).
Let me encourage you to reflect on habits and routines that are part of your life. I hope there are some good habits like reading the Bible every day and going to church on Sunday (Hebrews 10:25). But I suspect there may be some bad habits that have crept into your life too. Ask God to help you identify some habits in your life that may be having a negative impact on you or your loved ones. Ask God to give you the desire and strength to change a habit in your life. You will be glad you did and your loved ones will too!
You can read 365 more stories and articles by Mark Hopper in his book “Let Me Encourage You“. The price of a book is only $20 (plus $5 postage). Order your copy today at markh@efreedb.org.
Let Me Encourage You by Mark Hopper 