By
Allen White
“When an impure spirit comes out of a
person, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. Then it
says, ‘I will return to the house I left.’ When it arrives, it finds the house
unoccupied, swept clean and put in order. Then it goes and takes with it seven
other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the
final condition of that person is worse than the first. That is how it will be
with this wicked generation.”
Matthew 12:43-45
I was first
introduced to this concept as a child at summer camp. They weren’t messing
around. Fortunately, most people will never have this exact experience, but
there is a principle here.
I have a friend.
We’ll call him “Pat,” because that’s his name. Pat was a three pack a day
smoker for 25 years. His wife never let him smoke inside. So in the middle of
the night, even during the winter, Pat wondered outside to smoke. Pat decided
to quit.
He quit. Cold
turkey, he never smoked again. Then, Pat started to gain weight – a lot of
weight. After a year or so of not smoking and overeating, he went to see his
doctor. The doctor examined him and advised, “Pat, if you don’t stop gaining
weight, I’m going to ask you to start smoking again.” Apparently, one road was
a slower death than the other.
Most of us have
tried diets where we only obsessed over what we couldn’t eat. There was nothing
to fill the gap. Our stomachs were swept clean while the Oreo demons lurked
nearby.
Stopping a bad
habit without a replacement is sort of like jerking our foot off the clutch
without giving the engine any gas. You just don’t get anywhere.
This is why I’m a
big advocate of Celebrate Recovery. While the evidence of the battle is found
in a life-controlling problem, the battleground is in our minds. Sheer
resistance can get us a little relief, but long term success involves a shift
in our thinking. If we forsake one habit, but don’t change our thinking, we
resort to a new habit of some kind. Nothing has changed.
We can even pour
ourselves into admirable habits – over-exercising, over-working and even
over-volunteering. These imbalances produce great accolades. But, once a
junkie…unless you change your thinking.
Where are you
stuck? What do you feel is impossible to change? Prayer + Support + Hard Work =
Change. But, forsaking a bad habit without changing your thinking will only
lead to another habit. It’s your life. What do you want it to be?
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