Want To Overcome A Bad Habit?

We all know that a bad habit is difficult to overcome. For example, if we take off the first letter of the word habit, notice that it does not change "a bit." If we take off another letter, the only word then left is "bit." If we take off still another letter, the whole of "it" remains.

However, if we take off another letter, the "it" no longer exists. This little illustration shows us that if we want to get rid of a bad habit, we must throw it off altogether, replacing it with a good habit.

For example, if we have the bad habit of smoking, let us replace that habit with habitual prayer and the reading of the Scriptures (Ephesians 3:11-16; Colossians 1:9-13; Ephesians 3:4; 1 Timothy 4:13). We can carry a small Bible or New Testament with us, and every time we get an urge to smoke, we can say a short prayer, asking God to help us overcome our smoking habit, then read the Scriptures for strength and for reprogramming our thinking processes [mind] (Ephesians 3:16; Philippians 4:13; Colossians 3:1-10).

The longer we maintain the above activity in our everyday lifestyle, we'll soon find that the once bad habit of smoking begins to fade away, no longer having the strong influence over us it once had (Romans 6:11-19). Pretty soon, that bad habit will leave us completely, replaced by the good habit of prayer, daily Bible reading and study (1 Thessalonians 5:17; Acts 17:11; 2 Timothy 2:15).

Dear reader, may the Lord help us all to get rid of any bad habits we may have acquired in our life, replacing them with good habits, resulting in godly lifestyles (1 Timothy 4:7-8; Titus 2:10-13).

—Mike Riley, Gospel Snippets

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