Commitment To A Habit

by Rev. James Wong

The habit here refers to habits that promotes spiritual growth. Spiritual growth must be intentional. There is no such thing as natural spiritual growth though there is such a thing as natural physical growth.

A century ago, Samuel Smiles made this observation:

Sow a thought and you reap an act;
Sow an act and you reap a habit;
Sow a habit and you reap a character;
Sow a character and you reap a destiny.

Everything begins with a thought. If we have an ‘indifferent habit’ in thinking about health, we naturally will not take notice about our health until the day our body breaks down and demands our attention for repair. The thinking patterns of our mind can become known as the habit of the mind. Our thinking will control us to act in a certain way and if we repeat that action long enough it becomes our habit.

It is rightly said that human beings are creatures of habits. We are driven by our habits in our daily living. We either develop good habits or bad habits. When habits are formed they become our natural tendencies and these become our character which will impact our destiny.

For example, if we have a judgmental attitude we will have a habit to criticize others. In the end, others will avoid us. This lonesome destiny is a direct result of our character of being critical of others.

Some habits will cause us to backslide in our spiritual walk with God. One example is the habit of not having fellowship with other Christians.
Hebrews 10:25 says: “Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another — and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” Not being in fellowship with the church or other Christians can become a habit that leads us further from the family of God. So, our habits can make us or break us.

What are the spiritual habits that we must form in order to become a disciple of Jesus Christ? That is the focus of this Sunday’s sermon.