How to Break a Bad Habit
Recently a young woman from my church asked me a good question: How do you break a bad habit? Of course, without going into detail, I'll let you know that she was referring to a sinful habit. How do you break a sinful habit? Here's my answer.
- Admit that it is a sin. It's not just a bad habit; it is the very thing that put Christ on the cross. It is so offensive to God that Jesus had to die for God to forgive you.
- Ask God for help. Don't forget to ask God to deliver you; and don't stop asking every day until you are finally set free.
- Find the lie that you are believing. Our beliefs determine our behavior. You keep sinning because you believe something that makes the sin seem worth it. What is the lie? Write it down. For example, a common lie that people believe about sin is that there won't be any consequences.
- Dispel the lie with God's truth. Memorize a Bible verse that speaks directly to the lie that you've been believing, and every time the lie pops into your head, meditate on God's truth. Quote it, pray it, think about it.
- Get rid of unnecessary temptation. We can't eliminate all temptation, but most of the time people are tempted by things that they could have removed.
- Abide in Christ. Overcoming sin is spiritual growth, and the only way to grow is by abiding in Christ. That means keep a constant and close connection to Jesus. Stay connected, and fruit happens over time. Spiritual growth is not about merely trying, but abiding. How do we abide in Christ? Practice the spiritual disciplines that help you stay close to Jesus -- go to church every Sunday, get in a small group, find a place in church to serve, have a daily quiet time, etc.
- Don't give up. Breaking a bad habit rarely happens overnight. You'll likely go through a period of failing, starting over, failing, starting over, etc. The key is don't give up. Keep starting over. Don't be discouraged with failure. Learn to fail forward by running to God for forgiveness rather than away from God in shame. Believe me, victory is around the corner.
- Don't compromise. If you give in and sin just once, you'll lose all the progress that you've gained. You'll fall back into your bad habit and will once again face extreme difficulty in overcoming it. Remember, each day you abstain from sin, it gets easier and easier. But each day you sin, it gets harder and harder to stop.
