Basic HTML Version
J. AOMIT WHAT YOU ARE
OOING, OR THINKING OR FEELI NG
IS WRONG ANO HARMFUL. In bib–
JicaJ terminology thís is the first
step in
repentance.
(Of cou rse,
this demands the right standard
of determining right and wrong.
And this requires a knowledge of
God's Law.)
l t is impossible to change with–
out taking this step. So many fail
because they never, deep down in
their minds, squarely determine
or admit what they are doíng or
thinking is wrong. They will not
admit to themselves that they eat
too much, or drink too much or
are addicted in a damagíng way to
sorne practice or thinking. T hey
justify their present ways and
refuse to see any damage they are
causing to themselves or others–
until serious consequences strike
them.
You-not
someone else- must
be convinced you should change!
You must
want
to change a bad
habit!
After this c ritica! step is taken,
other essential s teps are required.
You must thcn:
2. POWERFULLY RESOLVE TO
CHA GE ANO QUJT THE WRONG
JIABIT IMMEOIATELY. This, in bib–
JicaJ terminology, is the second
step in repentance. Don't put off
a decision. You cannot expect
success wi th a hal fhcarted or
weak cffort. You must be strong–
ly motivated to change. Grasp the
consequences or potential conse–
quences if you don't change.
3. DEVELOP A CHANGE-OF-BE–
HAVIOR PLAN. This means:
October
1
November 1980
Understand the inRuences or
situations that spark old habit pat–
terns and avoid them whenever
possible. Abram did not shake off
his past until he moved to a new
land (Genesis 12). (Sorne situa–
tions you may not be able to totally
control or a lter, but you can change
your attitude toward them.)
Develop right and
positive
hab–
its or thought patterns to replace
the old damaging patterns. Re–
peat r ight patterns as often as you
can. These soon replace the
wrong pattern of acting or feel–
ing. You can do this if the new
pattern has sorne great value or
rewa rd, or if failure to do so
mcans an unwanted result.
Don't try to taper off from a
bad habi t. (Only a few situations
might dictate differently. For
instance, sorne physically addict–
ing drugs could cause scrious
bodily harm or even dcath if
suddenly quit "cold turkey."
Sorne serious problems need the
assistance and guidance of prop–
erly qualified and knowledgeable
persons.) Occasionally giving in
increases rather than d ecreascs
the persistence of an old habit.
Recognize and control self–
defeating thought or reasoning
patterns. Such thinking may be,
" l t'll be OK, just this once!" or,
" He does it, why can't 1?" or,
"Why deprive myself when there
are so few pleasures in life?"
Resolve not to give way or start a
new pattern of giving way, to
pressures from friends or others.
This is one of the toughest chal–
lenges in habit breaking. Keep
your eyes on your goal - kecp it
bright at all times.
Don 't give in to you r old hab–
it- cven once. You'll refire the
old habit and gct hooked again.
Permissive thoughts and actions
do count; it is like rewelding and
energizing the old cables of habit.
Yct if you do slip, don 't gct
discouraged. l t
is
difficult to
break habits, to give up cn–
trenchcd sins. Most people s lip
from time to time in the process
of st ruggling against a bad habit.
Get started again. Failure is guar–
anteed only if you give up.
4.SEEK PROFESSIONAL HELP IF
NECESSA RY TO OVERCOME PHYSI–
CAL HABJTS. l t is not possible for
this ar ticle to properly cover all
the various kinds of damaging
habits humans can fall prey to,
and to cover the special consider–
ations that may be necessary to
deal with them. Sound health and
financia! , ministerial or other
help may be nccdcd. Yarious
pamphlets or books dealing with
specific kinds of physical prob–
lems are availablc and hclpful.
For spiritual bad habits, you have
J esus Christ and the Bible to turn
to for divine help.
A New Outlook Need e d
Changing bad habits often de–
mands living diffcrent patterns of
life.
lt
usually requires a totally
different outlook on life, a sharp
redefining of what is most impor–
tant in life.
Breaking damaging habits
means seriously asking, perhaps
(Continued on page 29)
17