The price we pay

Old habits die HARD. Wouldn’t it be great, if it only took assaulting them once, and then they were gone for good? However, I fear that if this were the case we would quickly pick up a new unhealthy habit?!?! So maybe it is best that they die hard, but it sure isn’t a pleasant process.

In the battle against old habits and patterns, one of the greatest weapons we have is weighing the cost. What is the price we pay? Yes, avoiding a situation may temporarily keep the peace, but in the end, we have just delayed the inevitable, and the longer we delay, often the worse things get. Yes, allowing others to fill our cup emotionally may seem like an easy solution at the time, but what will we do long-term when we wear them out, and we feel empty again…and again…and again. Really, we can weigh the cost of any unhealthy pattern we have, and often the price we pay to maintain those behaviors is much higher than what we would lose if we let them go.

But…I fear many of us are already aware that the price we pay is much too high, but yet we continue to hang on. Why? Maybe because it is comfortable, maybe because we don’t know how to function any other way, maybe because letting it go seems unbearable, bottom line, we are afraid. So many reasons…so difficult…yes old habits die hard. But they do die, if we starve them.

The longer we feed the monster, the bigger it gets, and the more areas of our life it invades. We have to STOP feeding it. But seriously…starvation seems like the worst most torturous way to go…but it must be done…lest we continue to run up a bill.

This post is a little different from the ones I have done before. This time I am asking for a response, and in case you didn’t know, you can respond anonymously. If you feel led, please post what it is that you are battling, for two reasons. One, because it helps others to know that they are not alone, two, because I want to pray for you, and I would love it if we could pray for each other. It is never a good idea to go into battle alone, especially against such powerful forces. For our battle is not against flesh and blood, and it is a difficult one to fight, but with God on our side, he can show us how to change our patterns, to break down the walls that surround us. They may be familiar walls, decorated just the way we like them, but the funny thing about walls is...that although they protect us from being seen by others...they also keep us from being loved by others. Let’s ask God to tear down the walls dear one. We have been shut in to long. It’s time for some sunshine.

2 Timothy 1:7 “For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.