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 On
a recent Wednesday night one of our members (Byron Boucher)
presented a fine talk on “Avoiding Bad Habits.” With his
consent I am reproducing the salient points on this quote page.
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Webster
says “Habit implies a settled disposition or tendency
due to repetition.” One can not form a habit without first
deciding to “try it.” It follows, therefore, that our bad
habits — the ones we would like now to break — began by
choice. In this sense, we have none to blame but ourselves. We
stew in our own juice.
But
why does one light the first weed, or take the first drink, or
do whatever becomes a damaging habit? We should not seek to
escape personal responsibility — our fleshly appetites, youth’s
desire to experiment, etc. But many of these specific reasons
can be summed up in one general category, and that is social
pressures. Our T.V. and movie idols do it, advertisement
says it is the fashionable thing to do, ant most forceful of
all, our immediate associates do it.
There
is a sad irony in the current desire to “do your own thing,”
for more often than not “your own thing” is not your own at
all, but what your peers are doing. You dress, and talk, and
drink, and do, as your peers dictate. In fact, many young people
(and some older) live in dire fear that they will not conform to
the expectations of “the gang” — even while they are
loudly explaining that they are independent, and are determined
to be on their own. This would be bad enough in harmless
practices.
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It
becomes infinitely worse when the “habit” is of such a
nature that it becomes an “addiction” and the victim loses
the ability to exercise his will. Apart from drugs that so
dominate us, many sins make us their slave. One lie demands many
covering lies; and some appetites, once developed, are never
satisfied. All sin, unforgiven, has “dominion over you”
(Rom. 6:11-18). There is no slave so cursed as one who is
dominated and ruined by his own sinful habits.
We
are surrounded by a world where sin is “king” and whose
pressures are therefore pushing us in the wrong direction. James
says, “...the friendship of the world is enmity with God”
(14:14). “Whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is
the enemy of God.” We would emphasize that this makes the
world your own worst enemy. There is no better way — actually
there is no other way to really show free will and independence
in your own best interest, than to determine to live above the
world.
You
can not drift in this direction; it is an up-hill pull. And here
the fellowship of brethren in Christ can be truly appreciated.
Members of the church are not perfect — they are also pulling
up-hill against the tide of social pressures — but they “aim”
to do better. By making Christians your peers, by looking for
your life mate among Christians, by cultivating a social life
among Christians, you will ease your journey immeasurably. But
Christians are examples only so far as they follow Christ. It is
in Christ alone that we may finally overcome bad habits, and the
world.
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