The Key to the Future You Wantਨਮੂਨਾ

IDENTITY OR HABIT

Your Habits Are Not Your Identity

In life, it is easy to mistake a habit for an identity. We can mistake a pattern for a personality. Our habits become our default, and we often call our default our identity. Just because things come naturally doesn’t make them a good idea or right. The way we have responded to anger, the way we have always talked, are patterns that we have gotten good at, but they don't have to be our future. Our default isn’t our destiny. We aren’t lifeless logs flowing downstream. What we have always done without thinking, what comes naturally, can change.

We may have been marked by a short temper, being late, speaking before thinking, anxiety, overeating, or any number of bad habits. Our habits aren’t our identity. In Christ, we get to be born again. We are told to put off the old self, to put to death the works of the flesh. This means that what I once was isn’t supposed to be what I will be. I am not going to give up and claim shortcomings as my identity. My desires don’t justify my actions. My tendencies are just my habits. Remember, a habit is a choice we make until we stop realizing we are even making a choice. That is great when the habit is brushing our teeth. It's great if the habit is starting the day in prayer or God’s Word. But if the habit is yelling at those around us, procrastinating, complaining, or anything else contrary to God’s call for us, it's time to change it.

I had a friend whom I watched change what he thought was his defining attribute. During introductions, he would give his name and then tell people he talked too much. Which seemed odd. If you know it, why wouldn't you change it? But to him, that wasn’t even an option because that was part of his personality, or at least that is what he believed. He took a challenge to get into the Word daily and mark any area that he dealt with. As he went through Proverbs and filled up on how God’s Word viewed how we speak, it renewed his mind. His renewed mind brought change to his actions.

I want to encourage you, don’t let old habits shape your future just because they have been that way for a long time. God makes all things new. Bring the old habits to Him and choose to put away the old ways of doing things.