Thoughts from Mark "Hat" Rackley

If, however, the bull has had the habit of goring and the owner has been warned but has not kept it penned up and it kills a man or woman, the bull is to be stoned and its owner also is to be put to death.

• Exodus 21:29

The donkey said to Balaam, “Am I not your own donkey, which you have always ridden, to this day? Have I been in the habit of doing this to you?” “No,” he said.

• Numbers 22:30

And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

• Hebrews 10:24-25

“Every kiss, every hug
Seems to act just like a drug
You’re getting to be a habit with me

Let me stay in your arms
I’m addicted to your charms
You’re getting to be a habit with me

I used to think your love was something I could take or leave alone
But now I couldn’t do without my supply
I need you for my own

Oh, I can’t break away
I must have you everyday
As regularly as coffee or tea
You’ve got me in your clutches and I can’t break free
You’re getting to be a habit with me

Oh, I can’t break away
I must have you everyday
As regularly as coffee or tea
You’ve got me in your clutches and I can’t get free
You’re getting to be a habit with me
You’re getting to be a habit with me”

• Al Dubin, You’re Getting to be a Habit with Me

I apologize for this, but I grew up loving Allan Sherman music, a spoof of other people’s songs.  And I cannot think of one of these sets of lyrics without thinking of the other.  If I start with it, maybe I can then get serious.

Here is Allan Sherman singing You’re Getting to be a Rabbit with Me.

The music was written by Harry Warren, and the song first appeared in 42^nd Street.  The Sinatra version was featured in a 1998 movie, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.

But I am torn with this song.  I have heard pastors say that if you get someone to attend church, or Sunday school, etc. for three straight weeks they have developed a habit.  But the corollary is true.  If you find an excuse to not attend church (etc.) for three straight weeks, you have developed a habit of not going to church.

The Scriptures, which are roughly half of the uses of “habit” in the NIV, are not very complimentary on the subject.

Do not get me wrong.  If we have a seeker who is earnestly looking for answers to their questions, they might attend one service and not find the answer they are seeking.  In establishing a habit of going to church, they will eventually find their answers, but that is putting something in man’s dominion when it involves something that is spiritual.

My son went to church regularly, but it was a friend dragging him to a weekend retreat when he was at his lowest.  And the first speaker of the weekend asked if anyone in the room had thought of committing suicide.  My son thought that he was the only person there and he got the answers he needed right then.

Getting the right answers which leads to you not fighting to keep Jesus out is a spiritual thing, not a habit.

But reading the Bible daily is a habit and a good one.  Praying many times during the day is another good habit.  Calling a friend is a good habit.

But what we need is a transformation, and that is where the “getting to be” of the song works beautifully.  Look at the lyrics and you can apply attributes of God that attract us to Him, and those same attributes are what we see each day, reinforcing that God is still working in our lives.

God shows us that He is with us all the time.  It is not a habit.  It is His nature.

Whether it is a habit or a lifestyle change or simply us becoming a new creation, getting to be a little more like Jesus each day is where the Christian life is on this earth.

Here is Frank Sinatra singing You’re Getting to be a Habit with Me.

We must have Jesus every day.  But is it a habit or a new way of life?

Soli Deo Gloria.  Only to God be the Glory.