Question 1

What are some of the bad habits the Bible talks about?

Accepted Answer

Galatians 5:19-21When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God.1 John 3:8When people keep on sinning, it shows that they belong to the devil, who has been sinning since the beginning. But the Son of God came to destroy the works of the devil.Though as fallen people we will not completely overcome sin in this life, any sin allowed to grow can become a habit, a pattern of sinful living. When we make no attempt to change our behavior, we show that we are not serious about following God. Though perfection may not be possible in this life, seeking to follow God with all our hearts is something anyone can do. And with God’s help and the Holy Spirit’s presence and power, our seeking to obey will lead to a transformed life.Exodus 8:28, 32“All right, go ahead,” Pharaoh replied. “I will let you go into the wilderness to offer sacrifices to the Lord your God. But don’t go too far away. Now hurry and pray for me.” . . . But Pharaoh again became stubborn and refused to let the people go.Exodus 9:7Pharaoh sent his officials to investigate, and they discovered that the Israelites had not lost a single animal! But even so, Pharaoh’s heart remained stubborn, and he still refused to let the people go.Pharaoh developed a bad habit of stubbornness, even in the face of terrible consequences.Numbers 11:1Soon the people began to complain about their hardship, and the Lord heard everything they said. Then the Lord’s anger blazed against them, and he sent a fire to rage among them, and he destroyed some of the people in the outskirts of the camp.Numbers 14:1-2Then the whole community began weeping aloud, and they cried all night. Their voices rose in a great chorus of protest against Moses and Aaron. “If only we had died in Egypt, or even here in the wilderness!” they complained.The Israelites developed a bad habit of complaining. Chronic complaining can quickly turn into bitterness.1 Timothy 5:13If they are on the list, they will learn to be lazy and will spend their time gossiping from house to house, meddling in other people’s business and talking about things they shouldn’t.Too much time and too little to do can be fertile ground for bad habits. Idleness makes it easy to develop the bad habit of gossip.Isaiah 1:13Stop bringing me your meaningless gifts; the incense of your offerings disgusts me! As for your celebrations of the new moon and the Sabbath and your special days for fasting—they are all sinful and false. I want no more of your pious meetings.Hosea 8:13The people love to offer sacrifices to me, feasting on the meat, but I do not accept their sacrifices. I will hold my people accountable for their sins, and I will punish them. They will return to Egypt.Matthew 15:8-9“‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship is a farce, for they teach man-made ideas as commands from God.’”Religious rituals without true faith can become bad habits. They can be an “inoculation” to the living gospel. A vaccine inoculates against a virus by giving our bodies a weak, watered-down version of the virus. Then, when our body gets the real sickness, it’s familiar with the virus and easily shrugs it off. Empty religious rituals can do the same thing to believers. When they become a mindless habit, they can inoculate us to God’s living love and truth. We must make sure we haven’t created habits of “worship” that have stopped being true worship of our living God.

Question 2

How can I break bad habits?

Accepted Answer

Matthew 6:33-34“Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need. So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today.”Romans 7:15I don’t really understand myself, for I want to do what is right, but I don’t do it. Instead, I do what I hate.Philippians 4:13I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.One of the best ways to deal with bad habits is to recognize them for what they are and confess them honestly to God. Paul knew that he could not kick his sinful habits completely in this life (see Romans 7). But he did know that, with God’s help, he could make progress every day. In the same way we may have to give up a habit in phases, one step at a time, trusting God fully and relying on his power in us.Romans 8:5-6Those who are dominated by the sinful nature think about sinful things, but those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit think about things that please the Spirit. So letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death. But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace.God has given us the Holy Spirit to help make us holy. While victory does not always come immediately, we will progress as we submit our minds and hearts to the love, wisdom, and truth of God’s Spirit living in us.Romans 6:12-14Do not let sin control the way you live; do not give in to sinful desires. Do not let any part of your body become an instrument of evil to serve sin. Instead, give yourselves completely to God, for you were dead, but now you have new life. So use your whole body as an instrument to do what is right for the glory of God. Sin is no longer your master, for you no longer live under the requirements of the law. Instead, you live under the freedom of God’s grace.One of Satan’s great lies is that we are victims who have no power to resist the powerful influences around us. The world teaches that heredity, environment, and circumstances excuse us from responsibility. But God is more powerful than any other power trying to control us. When we call upon his power through prayer and seek the support of the Holy Spirit and fellow believers, God breaks the chains that hold us and sets us free.Philippians 4:8Now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.Colossians 3:2Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth.1 John 2:15Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you.Sin often appears attractive. In the same way, bad habits often feel good even though we know they are ultimately bad for us. Breaking a bad habit can be difficult because we are losing something we enjoy. A grieving process may be involved. Breaking bad habits will be much easier if we replace them with good ones. This moves our time and energy to new, healthier sources of fulfillment. Ultimately, losing a bad habit brings the deeper satisfaction of doing what is pleasing to God.Romans 6:16-17Don’t you realize that you become the slave of whatever you choose to obey? You can be a slave to sin, which leads to death, or you can choose to obey God, which leads to righteous living. Thank God! Once you were slaves of sin, but now you wholeheartedly obey this teaching we have given you.Breaking bad habits is a choice; it doesn’t just happen. We stand each day at many crossroads, where we have the opportunity to choose the ways of sin or of God. Whom would we rather serve?

Question 3

How can God help me cultivate good habits?

Accepted Answer

Acts 2:42All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals (including the Lord’s Supper), and to prayer.Hebrews 10:25Let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.Meeting together with other believers is a good habit because it provides necessary support and fellowship, develops the habit of group Bible study, keeps us busy when we might otherwise slip into bad habits, and offers an accountability group.Genesis 26:21-22Isaac’s men then dug another well, but again there was a dispute over it. So Isaac named it Sitnah (which means “hostility”). Abandoning that one, Isaac moved on and dug another well. This time there was no dispute over it, so Isaac named the place Rehoboth (which means “open space”), for he said, “At last the Lord has created enough space for us to prosper in this land.” Isaac’s men then dug another well, but again there was a dispute over it . . . Abandoning that one, Isaac moved on and dug another well. This time there was no dispute over it.Matthew 5:9“God blesses those who work for peace, for they will be called the children of God.”Romans 12:18Do all that you can to live in peace with everyone.We should cultivate the habit of being peacemakers. Isaac pursued a habit of peace. In this case, it meant staying away from the source of the conflict, the Philistines, even at great personal expense.Psalm 28:7The Lord is my strength and shield. I trust him with all my heart. He helps me, and my heart is filled with joy. I burst out in songs of thanksgiving.As a young boy, David developed the habit of talking to God, singing songs about him, and writing psalms. This helped him to trust in and follow God all his life.1 Corinthians 9:25All athletes are disciplined in their training. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize.1 Timothy 4:7-8Do not waste time arguing over godless ideas and old wives’ tales. Instead, train yourself to be godly. “Physical training is good, but training for godliness is much better, promising benefits in this life and in the life to come.”Good habits—such as reading God’s Word, praying, and giving our time and money in service—give us spiritual stamina, purpose, and direction. They also help us keep our eyes on the ultimate goal of eternal life.

Question 4

How can I pass on good habits to my family?

Accepted Answer

Deuteronomy 11:19“Teach them [the Lord’s words] to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up.”1 Corinthians 9:25All athletes are disciplined in their training. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize.1 Timothy 4:12Be an example to all believers in what you say, in the way you live, in your love, your faith, and your purity.When we make God part of our daily life in a disciplined way, we will leave a more godly example to those who come after us. Children learn by example. Hopefully they will be noticing more good habits from their parents than bad.Deuteronomy 6:6-7“And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands that I am giving you today. Repeat them again and again to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up.”We should be purposeful in teaching good thoughts and habits to our children. This involves explaining why we follow God and how we have seen him work in our lives. We must make a habit of passing on a godly heritage.

Habits