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Day 7 Break a habit

What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! . . . When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the control of righteousness. What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death! But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. Romans 6.15–22

Freedom! Everyone wants it. The trouble is that someone else’s freedom always seems more appealing than your own. Teenagers tell you they are longing for the day when they are liberated from school. Professionals tell you they wish they could reclaim the freedom of their schooldays. Last week somebody said to me, ‘It must be wonderful for you not to have children. It makes you free to do whatever you want with your life.’ I felt a searing urge to reach out my hand and enthusiastically shake the woman by the throat.

Experience has made me adept at dealing with the stupid things people say. At a wedding last summer someone I hadn’t seen for 20 years said to me, ‘Have you managed to find yourself a woman yet?’ I was really cross, so I pretended to look forlorn and said, ‘Well, to be honest, I gave up hope after the amputation.’ The shock on her face as she tried to work out the politically correct response was a treat, but I had to limp through the entire reception to keep up the pretence.

As Christians God has set us free. But it’s an awkward freedom, because it brings with it a huge list of things one is not supposed to do. I have been involved in an exchange of e-mails with Saint Paul recently, which went like this:

Me: I feel trapped.

Saint Paul: Push off! I’m busy writing Romans.

Me: But it’s urgent.

Paul: They’re throwing me to the lions next week. Don’t talk to me about urgent!

Me: That’s just what I need to talk about. You’re under arrest because you worship Jesus, but you say you’re freer than you ever were before.

Paul: It’s not that kind of freedom. I’m free because we have a God who is loving and merciful when we have done things wrong, and there is nothing that he enjoys more than to forgive our sins.

Me: Right then! I have a fantastic idea about freedom. Let’s sin as often as we can, so that God will enjoy being loving and forgiving even more.

Paul: That is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard!

Me: Don’t disappoint me! I’m hoping for orgies on a Saturday night followed by forgiveness on a Sunday morning.

Paul: Hard luck, mate! Nice try! (We’ve got a right one here!) Look up what I wrote in Romans. You can find it on the internet.

In Romans, Paul explains that people who are not Christians think they can do whatever they please, but in fact they haven’t got the freedom they imagine. It’s as if they were slaves to sin and forced to do what God declares to be wrong. Forced to accept the world systems that keep poor people poor while rich people get the best deal. Forced to go along with society’s standards that anything is acceptable in sex as long as no one gets distressed. Forced to accept that the person who pushes their weight around is going to get their way. These things have enticing names: free market, free love, free-for-all. But there’s nothing free about them; they are part of a world that is enslaved.

You were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love. Galatians 5.13

When you become a Christian, you don’t stop being the slave and start being the boss; you stop being the slave to one thing and become a slave to another. You become God’s slave. Why is that appealing? It is hard to grasp, because slavery is not a daily reality in this country as it was in Paul’s day. But low-grade addiction is – to nicotine, caffeine, chocolate or any one of a thousand habits. And since Paul seems to have mastered e-mail he can probably understand tobacco as well!

If you notice something evil in yourself, correct it. If something good, take care of it. If something beautiful, cherish it. If something sound, preserve it. If something unhealthy, heal it. Do not weary of reading the ways of the Lord, and you will be adequately instructed by them so as to know what to avoid and what to go after. Bernard of Clairvaux, founder of the Cistercian order of monks, 1091–1153

Saint Paul: Becoming a Christian is like breaking free from an addiction to cigarettes.

Me: I can’t help it. I don’t even want to do it, but I need the nicotine. I know it’s smelly, my friends think it’s revolting, and there’s every chance I’ll die from it, but it’s beyond my control.

Paul: Then make a complete break. Throw away your ashtrays, get rid of your lighter, snip your leftovers in two, and never have another puff.

Me: That’s not being set free; that’s being imprisoned. I’ve lost my freedom ever to enjoy a cigarette again.

Paul: Yes. Welcome to prison! Welcome to breathing clean air. Welcome to food that tastes fabulous. Welcome to clothes that don’t smell. Welcome to good health. You’re going to have a new addiction now – addiction to never smoking again. You don’t want to go back to old habits do you?

This illustrates what Paul meant when he wrote: ‘What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death! But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness.’

Be both a servant and free: a servant in that you are subject to God, but free in that you are not enslaved to anything – either to empty praise or to any of the passions. John of Apamea, monk, circa 400–50

As a Christian, do you miss any of the things that the rest of society seems to do without restraint? Welcome to clean air. Welcome to living without shame. Welcome to knowing that God is delighted by holiness. Welcome to life.

You don’t want to go back to the way the rest of the world lives! Don’t dabble with it. Make a clean break. Throw out anything that has tempting, ashen traces of wrongdoing on it. Don’t go near where old habits led you. Have a new way of life. A new addiction. Addicted to good. Addicted to God.

Detox: Break a habit! Analyse the things you do regularly and ask whether any of them are in control of you, rather than being things you choose. Even if it is only for a specific length of time, overcome the habit to demonstrate your freedom. And thank God too for the freedom to worship him.

Lord Jesus, free me from all that holds me back in my desire to be wholly yours. Let nothing but you demand my undivided loyalty. Amen.