Over and Over Again Keep Thinkin Bout It
Why Practice I Keep Doing The Same Sin Over And Over again?
The blessing of habits is yous don't have to think; you do them. The curse of habits is you don't have to call up; you do them. Of course, bad habits lead to sin patterns that are hard to escape, which is why the five redemptive habits in this commodity tin save y'all from recurring sin patterns.
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- The alcoholic spends his entire paycheck at the bar, in ane dark.
- The crack addict steals coin from her daughter's savings to get her prepare on.
- The fearful person is in a state of affairs she can't control. Now she's afraid.
- The porn addict is tired and wearied, feeling defeated. He gets his fix by surfing the net. Again.
- The gossiper needs her "approval set," so she passes along some juicy info virtually a friend.
- The mocker fulfills his desire to control others by making fun of people through put-downs and sarcasm.
- The insatiable shopper has 2 closets full of clothes. She softens the blows to her conscience past calling herself a "comfort shopper."
And what practice these people have in common?
They have a sin habituation that has been going on for many years, and they believe it volition never get abroad. In this sense, the gossiper, the fearful, the druggy, the alcoholic, the mocker, the shopper and the porn guy are withal.
It is important to sympathize when you think nearly addictions that you likewise include the more refined addictive sins like frustration, fearfulness, self-righteousness, criticalness, insecurity, and sinful mocking.
Christians do not isolate addictive behavior to only the more sensational or socially understood sins similar alcohol, homosexuality, and drugs. Nosotros're all addicts in our unique ways. I'm an aficionado; y'all're an aficionado.
I've never met a person who was not an "aficionado" in some way. Sinful, addictive behavior is a result of our fallenness, which brings you to a few obvious questions:
- How did these people get this way?
- How did you get this way?
- How did I get this way?
- Did nosotros choose one day that we would yield our lives to the cruelty and slavery of sin?
- Are we responsible for our condition or our deportment?
- And the almost important question of all, "Can I stop my addictive (recurring, habitual) sinning?"
Can't Get Out Of Trap
Brothers, if anyone is defenseless in any transgression, y'all who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too exist tempted. – Galatians 6:1
To begin unpacking these questions, yous must start where Paul started. As a son or daughter of Adam, your default heart condition is an unquenchable and undeniable loyalty to yourself. At your cadre, you lot are self-centered. And so am I.
With a pre-conditioned heart motivated toward cocky-centeredness, information technology is not hard to empathize how and why sin "catches" any of united states of america, to use Paul'due south linguistic communication.
When I say "caught," I'1000 not saying y'all're "busted" like when a policeman pulls yous over for speeding. Though that tin be called "getting caught" that is not what Paul ways by the word "defenseless." Paul is saying you become caught as though you are in a bear trap and yous cannot get out of information technology.
When Sin Controls
The mode sin takes control of you is the same for all of us. It starts at your showtime sinful choice. Though y'all may say, "Yeah" to sin, at that moment, you're all the same in control of your sin. Meaning, you lot may say, "No" the next fourth dimension temptation knocks on your center's door.
If you lot do not say, "No" to temptation, you volition yield to the sin. In the process of time, you will slowly lose command of the ability to say, "No." Earlier, y'all had power over the sin. As you lot proceed to yield to the temptation, it volition exercise power over you. You began to develop sinful habits. Habits are, in part, how God wired you. Habits were never meant to be evil.
The bad news is that in a post-Genesis three world, you practise not develop righteous habits only. Considering of the invasive power of the doctrine of sin, yous accept the ability to create unrighteous habits also. "Habit" is the discussion for repetitive behavior. The word "addiction" does not distinguish between right and wrong. The word is neutral. Information technology is your heart motive, which evolves into specific behaviors that determine if the habit is skilful or evil.
When bad habits begin to exert power over your heart, you're non far from what our civilization calls an addiction. Paul chosen it "caught" in a trap.
My Forcefulness Is Weaker Than My Sin
Let's pretend a bear trap has caught you somewhere deep in the woods. Let'due south farther pretend that it has zapped your strength and you lot have no ability to open the jaws of the trap to release your bleeding and leap ankle. Your hope is diminishing past the second.
It is the nature of the bear trap to exert a greater power over your ability to overcome it. No "Acquit Trap Maker" would always make a trap that was easy to escape.
It is the nature of sin to exert a greater ability over your ability to extricate yourself. If you could free yourself from your sin, you would non demand a Divine Rescuer. There would be no need for the gospel. The but fashion you can go out of the traps you get yourself into is through God-ordained means.
Back To The Woods
You decide to pray (yell) to God for help. The question is, "How do y'all expect God to answer your prayer?"
- Practise you wait Jesus to show upwards and loosen the trap?
- Practise you expect the jaws of the trap to pop open miraculously?
It's not likely that either one of those events will happen. Does that mean God did not hear you lot and, therefore, is not going to help you? The answer to that question depends on your agreement of prayer as well as God's ordained means for helping His children. What does Paul say?
You who are spiritual should restore him. – Galatians 6:1
Rescue Happens In Community
Did you know that every time you prayed to God for help to get out of your habitual sinning that He heard y'all? Did yous further know that He provided a solution to your problem?
One of the biggest reasons people become caught in sin and stay in sin is because they do non want anyone to know about the sinfulness of their lives. The man trapped in the woods needs the help of his friends. The human trapped in sin needs the help of other Christians.
That is the style information technology has to be. A fool thinks he can habituate himself in sin all by himself and that he can go out of his sin all by himself. Not probable.
In Galatians 6, Paul is calling the body of Christ to attention. The "spiritual" in this verse means those who have the Spirit–the Christians. This idea is essential to discipling well. You lot and I need the community of faith to help usa out of our addictive behaviors. And this is where the rub is. We don't want to tell anyone about our messes.
Keys To Breaking Addictions
If you use these five elementary biblical truths to your life, yous can become assist for the repetitive sins in your life:
#1 – Humility – The road to change e'er begins with a humble heart.
#2 – Transparency – You must intentionally and appropriately reveal yourself to a caring community of Christlike disciple makers.
#3 – Honesty – Just the whole truth and nil only the truth almost who you are will help you.
#4 – Repentance – While all of the previous keys are part of repentance, information technology is imperative you know how to walk through the thirteen steps to repentance.
#5 – Contexts – Identify yourself in the community of religion. A small grouping setting is ideal for habituated sinners like y'all and me.
Friends, do not over-think the situation. Practise not wait for the next best volume for your problem. The church, historically, has never needed the "next best book." If you carefully apply God's Word to your life, while authentically living in the context of similar-minded believers, sin tin can be defeated, no matter how habituated you take been.
Rick launched this training network in 2008 to provide life-changing resources that equip Christians to assist others. His main responsibilities are resource creation and leadership development, which he does through speaking, writing, podcasting, and educating.
In 1990 he earned a BA in Theology, and in 1991 he received a BS in Didactics. In 1993 he was ordained into Christian ministry, and in 2000 he graduated with an MA in Counseling from The Master's University in Santa Clarita, CA. In 2006 he was recognized as a Fellow of the Association of Certified Biblical Counselors (ACBC).
Source: https://rickthomas.net/why-do-i-keep-doing-the-same-sin-over-and-over-again/