Overcoming Bad HabitsWherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word — Psa. 119:9.
How responsible is the position of those who are building character in themselves and in others! Remember that our characters are manifested by our habits of life; and each act, even the smallest, tends to form some new habit, or to confirm one already established. How important, then, that our thoughts and actions should not be aimless, but with a purpose (1 Cor. 10:31); and, above all, that our lives should be "transformed [re-formed] by the renewing of our minds"; that, putting aside the evil, and all influences which tend toward evil, we should receive of the Lord, through His Word, the "spirit of a sound mind," the "mind of Christ." In this view of the case, it is indeed a solemn thing to live, a solemn thing to think, and to act; and it behooves us to guard well our words, our thoughts and our actions, and ever to bear in mind our responsibility to God, both for ourselves and for others as ambassadors for Christ—Z '05, 360 (R 3674). What is meant by habit? It may be defined as the custom of the mind or disposition to think or to direct action along certain previously and usually employed lines. Habits have a tremendous power for good or for evil. The proverb says, Sow a thought and reap a motive; sow a motive and reap an act; sow an act and reap a tendency; sow a tendency and reap a habit; sow a habit and reap a character; sow a character and reap a destiny. Habit begets a fondness for the deed performed. Habit, given free course, controls our general conduct—our thoughts, speech, gestures, tone of voice, carriage, dress, manner, etc.—BS '73, 75. Parallel passages: Num. 8:7; Neh. 15:22; Job 17:9; Psa. 19:12-14; 24:3-5; 32:5; 51; 119:9; Isa. 1:16; 52:11; Jer. 22:21; Mic. 2:1; Rom. 6:11-23; 1 Cor. 6:9-11, 18; 10:14; 2 Cor. 7:1; Gal. 5:1; 6:1, 7, 8; 2 Tim. 2:22; Jas. 1:8, 12-14; 4:8; 1 John 1:9; 5:21; Rev. 3:5; 21:7, 8. Hymns: 130, 136, 312, 194, 96, 198, 350. Poems of Dawn, 306: The Early Impress. Tower Reading: Z '90, 5 (R 1186). Questions: Have I recently sought earnestly to rid myself of bad habits? What helped or hindered therein? With what results? |
|
THE EARLY IMPRESS
PROV. 22:6
I TOOK a piece of plastic clay
And idly fashioned it one day;
And as my fingers pressed it still
It bent and yielded to my will.
I came again when days were past,
The bit of clay was hard at last;
My early impress still it bore
And I could change its form no more.
I took a piece of living clay
And gently formed it day by day;
Molding with parental art
A young boy's soft and yielding heart.
In time his tender years were gone,
It was a man I looked upon;
My early impress still he bore
And I could change him nevermore!
PROV. 22:6
I TOOK a piece of plastic clay
And idly fashioned it one day;
And as my fingers pressed it still
It bent and yielded to my will.
I came again when days were past,
The bit of clay was hard at last;
My early impress still it bore
And I could change its form no more.
I took a piece of living clay
And gently formed it day by day;
Molding with parental art
A young boy's soft and yielding heart.
In time his tender years were gone,
It was a man I looked upon;
My early impress still he bore
And I could change him nevermore!
