We Become our Habits

Scripture: Then He said to me, “Have you seen this, O son of man? Is it a light thing to the house of Judah that they commit the abominations which they commit here? For they have filled the land with violence and have continually provoked Me to anger. And they put the branch to their nose. Therefore I will indeed deal in fury. My eye shall not spare, nor will I have pity. And though they cry in My ears with a loud voice, yet I will not listen to them.” Ezekiel 8:17-18

Observation: God has shown Ezekiel what is happening in the temple - the fact that the Israelites have placed idols throughout, worshiping other gods, and even creating hidden chambers to worship them in secret. And God is revealing what will happen next - his spirit is being withdrawn from the temple, and Jerusalem will fall.

This part of the vision ends with this statement from God. He notes that these terrible sins - the act of the people to completely turn away from himself and from his righteousness - is a "light thing" for the Jews. They consider doing this as a regular, easy act, every day. The nature of the sin, then is not just in the performance of that sin, but rather in the fact they have adopted the sin into their normal, everyday life. This was the purpose of the instruction for Israel for what to do with God's law! They were to adopt the law into their lives, to review it with children at their waking and their going to bed, to discuss it while walking and eating and chatting with friends.

Instead, worship of all these other gods has become their daily habit. They do it lightly, without deep thought, as a matter of routine.

Application: Our modern society is not generally rebellious against God when we question the teaching of Jesus. Rather, we are at our worst when we lightly adopt activities, beliefs, and practices into our daily lives that are in conflict with God, and do so as a matter of habit with little or no thought of the relationship between those practices and God's righteousness.

I am sure I do this. I do not think about the relationship between my actions and God's expectations when I get frustrated at work, lie to others to get my way, or show anger. As a people, we now write laws and boast of "progressive" thinking when we institutionalize sinful practices.

God will "deal in fury" I am certain. My hope, then, is not to reverse the universal trend of this country. It is instead to simply address my life and my ways in a manner that does not align to the culture. I must align to God's instructions. I must lean into the Holy Spirit and be kind, gentle, and patient, while others are aggressive, angry, and manipulative. I must love others, while not conforming to sinful practices. I must make the ways of God my daily habit, despite how that may run in contradiction to society.

Prayer: Lord, you have always been right and just in your judgment of people. You are slow to anger, patient in your love. You also see all things, even those done in secret, and you will eventually take action to correct us all. I yield to your judgment. You are the one with authority over my life, in all ways, at all times, over all things. May my deeds serve you, and may my ways attempt to align to your teachings and instructions every day. Amen.