Christian Habits: Action Informs Our Desires

May 19

I recently listened to a really insightful podcast on habits, and I was surprised that it only occurred to me now how our character is actually shaped by our habits.

If you think about it, it makes sense, because how else do we end up describing someone’s personality, if not from observing their habits?

What We Do Becomes Who We Are

Coming from a biblical counseling perspective, the Greg Gifford posited in the podcast that our desires are shaped by what we do on a regular basis.

He says, “What we want is usually because of what we do.”

As someone who is admittedly a bit suggestible, when I see or hear something, such as creative work (r&b music, YouTube videos) enough times, I will likely want to copy it.

On the one hand, this can be beneficial for me as a creative, as I get to improve my skills through experimentation. But on the other, it would be harmful for my heart to get used to conforming “to the patterns of this world” (Romans 12:2) which often goes directly against the will of God.

“I Want to Be A better Person”

The moment Christ takes the driver’s seat in our lives, we gradually begin to see the broken and vile parts of us that we’ve been blind to.

And naturally, we want to be better people.

As a biblical counselor, Dr. Gifford has met several people who wanted to change. And in his journey in the ministry, here is a common problem he has seen: “Many of us are struggling with a desire to do something without actually doing it. But the action of doing it is what reinforces the desire to do it.”

Working Out The Truth Within

[C]ontinue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose. (Philippians 2:12b-13)

Our role is to work out our already sure salvation, because God is the one who works in us to fulfill His good purpose.

Perhaps some personality theorists in psychology would disagree with the idea that actions form our personalities. But in the Christian life, transformation from our old self to the new is inevitable. As such, there will be a change in both our wills (our hearts and intentions) and our actions.

Born Again with a New Identity

But in the same way that our natural predispositions will determine our actions and unconscious habits from birth, becoming set apart in Christ then becomes our new identity.

This time, we have the choice to embrace it, and act like in line with it.

So if we want to be Christlike people, then we need to build habits that will get us there. Whether it’s more frequent prayer, deeper Bible study, generosity, a life of simplicity, or honesty, our faith will have to be manifest in our deeds.

Remember, true faith always produces good works.

Faith without good works is dead. (James 2:26)

Forsake Your Sinful Habits

A good place to start is to first determine the bad habits that you, your friends, or family notice about you, then make changes from there.

Some common bad or sinful habits are grumbling, overspending, lying, procrastinating, and selfishness, just to name a few.

But just to be clear, changing our actions to be more Christlike does not make us more acceptable to God. Our righteousness is exclusively found in Jesus.

But just like how Paul encourages us to “put on love” (Colossians 3:14) like how we put on a sweater, we can choose to imitate Jesus in our daily lives, and embrace the new identity we have in Him.

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