In The Gospel Coalition, David Mathis writes, “The word ‘habit’ can have such a negative feel. It can bring to mind smoking, alcoholism, or drug addiction. Or something simply unappealing and annoying, like nail-biting, lip-smacking, or loud public itching of dry skin. Habits can be nasty little things. They can also save your life. Like the habit of looking both ways before crossing the street. Or putting on your seatbelt and pressing the brakes when the light ahead turns yellow. Or the habit of making a beeline for the Bible first thing in the morning.”
As Christian believers, one of our spiritual disciplines is to endeavor to form our daily habits into joy-filled, grace-loaded actions that will transform us into the image of Christ in such a way that others will want to know how to achieve the same level of contentment that we have.
There are many ways we can submit ourselves to daily habits that move us in that very direction. There is reading God’s Word, meditating on it, daily journaling, and praying in all manner.
One of the daily habits I like to embrace, to reflect Christ in me, is through random acts of kindness (and often not so random.) These vary in intensity and quantity as the occasion arises each day. They can be as simple as informing the cashier that he/she made a mistake and undercharged you, paying for items of the person in front of you that hasn’t enough money, putting out beverages and snacks to thank the men who are working in 100 degree heat outside of your house, walking a neighbor’s dog when they are under the weather, leaving groceries on the doorstep of a family you know is struggling. Offering up our time to people in need be it your co-worker who could use an extra hand on a project, or a parent who is juggling work and home and needs a night of rest and relaxation allows others to see Christ in us. The list is as long as the ideas you have inside you and your ability to perceive a need and fill it without a desire for recognition of any kind. Truly it can be endless!
In blessing others, we are in fact blessing ourselves, because my friends, the spiritual discipline of Christ-centered daily habits represent our faith put into action in a world that needs a bird’s eye view of the Gospel at work.
Bonnie Boe, Commissioned Lay Pastor, (805) 529-8422 x102