“I have the right to do anything,” you say; but not everything is beneficial. “I have the right to do anything”; but I will not be mastered by anything.” 1 Corinthians 6:12
Did you have any bad habits when you were a kid that your parents tried their best to correct? Talking with your mouth full of food, biting your fingernails, picking your nose or always interrupting when someone else was talking? The Allschwede’s lived near our farm and their son was a thumb sucker. His mom broke him of that habit by daily applying a coating of fresh chicken manure. And that is a good thing cause thankfully, he didn’t acquire a fondness to the taste of chicken manure.
Bad habits come in many forms and if they aren’t confronted, they can lead to larger problems if they are allowed to get out of control. We live in a sin filled world that has its share of people with bad habits. Bad habits are common to all of us. They're the price we pay for being human. Some people wrestle with a habit that is as accepted and as common as overeating or exaggerating or cheating or procrastinating. Sinful habits like gossip, worry, bullying, irritability, and profanity are often practiced without guilt by some nasty folks and justified through cleverly devised mental schemes. The list is endless as it is held up to the Ten Commandments. But Christ can set you free from those bad habits when you repent and surrender in obedience to Him. There are a group of mostly young men in Haiti who are members of a gang in Haiti and they are bullying His children with their weapons, threats and acts of chaos. They need to repent, lay down their weapons and undo what they have damaged; people, businesses, schools and their country. We need to pray that they will turn away from their bad habits and reach out to Jesus. If you are still struggling with a bad habit; take it to the foot of the Cross of Christ. Give it to Him and repent and start a new life dedicated to Him.
Heavenly Father, you have called your servants to ventures of which we cannot see the ending, by paths as yet untrodden, through perils unknown. Give us faith to go out with good courage, not knowing where we go but only that your hand is leading us and your love supporting us through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. Amen.
May God be with you,
Jay