Examine Your Habits

This year marks 20 years since I attended my first ever Freedom in Christ event in Knoxville, Tennessee!

I taught Freedom in Christ material in our church in Syracuse, so a few of us decided to take a trip to learn more about the ministry.  Since it was a 12-hour drive, we rented a nice, new Buick Century.

There was only one problem. The hood kept popping open, which can be very dangerous while driving down the highway or interstate!

Honestly, though, we couldn’t fault the Buick. The problem was completely due to driver error… and that driver was none other than yours truly.

The car’s comfort felt so familiar. It reminded me of our 1984 station wagon, and that was the problem. Dad taught us to always set the emergency brake in our station wagon, so it was my automatic habit.  Every time I got in that car, I reached down to the left and released the parking brake.

The problem with the Buick was that the hood release lever was located exactly where the station wagon’s brake release had been located!

So, throughout the trip, I would get in the car to drive and, out of habit, pop the hood! Too many times, I had to stop, get out, and put the hood down before proceeding on our trip.

One time, I got in, popped the hood, grimaced, got out, and put the hood down. But then, I got back in the driver’s seat and popped the hood again (for the second time in a matter of seconds!!). I almost gave up and let someone else drive, but they were laughing too hard!

What was happening? The familiar feeling of the Buick seat created an automatic response that was not only based on wrong thinking but was dangerous and potentially destructive.

The Apostle Paul tells us, “Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you? – unless indeed you fail to meet the test!” (2 Corinthians 13:5, ESV).

In context, Paul had just announced to the Corinthian church that his third visit would involve judgment against the false apostles who were teaching that the proof of God’s love was in health, wealth, and prosperity.

By contrast, Paul shared his own weaknesses and declared that Christ’s power works through our weaknesses so that we can serve others.

Instead of health, wealth and prosperity, Paul said the proof of Christ’s presence in our lives is our ongoing growth in Christ—think character change. Earlier, Paul wrote that, “we all… are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another.” (2 Cor. 3:18, ESV). 

Then, he challenged the church: “Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God.” (2 Cor. 7:1, ESV).

Dear Saints, if you have trusted Jesus as your Savior, you should see growth in holiness, service to the Lord, and evidence of God’s power at work in you. This is not to make any of us question our faith but to encourage us to evaluate our hearts.

So, how do we do this?  Here’s what has worked for me.

I begin with God’s truth. We are in Christ, and He exchanged our sin for His righteousness (2 Cor. 5:21). We are His children, and He is our Father (2 Cor. 6:18).

Then, I examine my words, attitudes, and actions to see if they line up with God’s word. Jesus said that our outward expression comes from the heart (Mark 7:21). So, we can evaluate what is going on in our heart through examining our outward behaviors. 

When we find discord between God’s word and what flows from our heart, we place our faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ and focus on renewing our minds with the truth of God’s word (see Romans 12:1-2).  

As we add to our faith (2 Peter 1:5-9), think what is true and right (Philippians 4:8-9), and work out our salvation in response to God (Philippians 2:12-13), we trust God to transform us into His image (2 Cor. 3:18). And the outward expression naturally (or supernaturally!) conforms to God’s truth.

When I drove that Buick, I knew in my head that I was not in our old station wagon. But the setting felt so similar that my actions were automatic.

In the same way, let’s be willing to examine our core beliefs by observing our habits and then submit ourselves to Christ for growth!