Old Habits

Old Habits

Almost everything a person does is done out of habit. However, habits vary greatly. They are more or less bad or more or less good. The longer a habit lasts, the more difficult it is to be rid of it or to acquire a better habit.

It is so extremely serious that most people never manage to get rid of an old habit. Unfortunately, this is an observable fact! It is not that it isn’t possible, for all things are possible for him who believes! If you do not make the required effort, nothing will come of it; but if you do make the effort, you will be successful in acquiring new, glorious, biblical habits even though the old, unbiblical habit lasted fairly long.

The better habits can always be found in the Bible or in the Bible concordance! “And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue . . . and stood up to read.” Luke 4:16. “Then Paul, as his custom was, went into them, and . . . reasoned with them from the Scriptures.” Acts 17:2-4. “To them I answered, ‘It is not the custom of the Romans to deliver any man in order to please someone . . . .’” Acts 25:16. How good it was that they did not have such a nasty, bad habit!

On the whole, very little is done unless it is done out of a person’s more or less bad or good or excellent habits. There is no end to the bad or somewhat good habits that a brother or sister can possess! They can virtually follow them “faithfully,” even be enslaved by them, instead of faithfully following the light they received from God and thus receive more light, gradually receiving new, and better, even far better, useful and edifying habits!

For example: Strive to honor one another, working much harder, even intensely, on your own soul’s salvation, always being really glad and rejoicing so it can become such an ingrained habit that you can never get rid of it!!! For it is just as difficult to get rid of an excellent habit as it is of a bad habit! That is obvious; like for like!

The Scriptures exhort us all—especially the sisters—to be still, but not when we are to praise God, and not when we shall give thanks, not when we shall rejoice, not when we shall testify, not when we shall pray out loud, not when we shall answer with a loud and clear voice, not when we shall speak with someone who is hard of hearing, not when we shall speak God’s Word in truth and spirit. But we do need to be still when we are to be in submission, when we shall hear God’s voice in our inner man, when something goes against us, when we are treated unjustly, cheated and deceived, defamed and badly treated, when we are tempted to get angry, and much more.

This also applies to our daily life when we have said that which was necessary and the others keep on chatting. Think if you could manage to control your tongue then? Think if you could be quiet then? Think if you could—by God’s great grace—partake of a brand new, glorious biblical habit in this area? Think if you could be a radiant light and a great blessing to your fellow sisters! Good luck! The effort of changing habits is well worth it! You can be fully assured of that!!!

Your blessedly happy fellow brother—