Ever play with magnets as a kid? They’re fascinating. Some repel as if a real, physical object holds them apart while others attract and become near inseparable. This is where all the cliche romantic idioms like “opposites attract” and “Johnny is a girl magnet” come from. Magnets give us a visual for real-life phenomena.
Like sin.
Think about that one particular temptation you can’t seem to resist no matter what you do. We all have them—they’re called habitual sins or sins of habit—and the attraction is stronger than the pull of a high-powered magnet. Sometimes you just get tired of fighting only to lose again.
If you’re thinking about giving up, however, remember this: The way to overcome habitual sin is not some complicated 20-step formula that allows no room for error.
The key to getting rid of those pesky sins of habit is persistence—not giving up no matter what.
Hi, I’m Lauren Thell, author of Christian YA fiction and blogger for teens who are ready to exceed the world’s expectations.
In This Article
Overcome Habitual Sin: What’s Your Greatest Weakness?
Everyone has a pet sin (or sins)—that one thing that grabs your fancy like nothing else. You’ve purged it from your life only to have it come back with wicked vengeance. Maybe yours is swearing. Or road rage. Or pornography, or steamy romance novels, or lying, or gossiping, or homosexual tendencies, or [fill in the blank].
Everyone has habitual sin—a pet sin, that one thing that grabs your fancy like nothing else.
First off, I’m going to make an assumption here, the assumption that you know what you’re doing is wrong. If you’re still trying to justify your actions, it’s time to pick up your Bible and align yourself with God’s word. (I also suggest you check out my posts Biblical Discernment for Teens: How to Make Good Decisions and Desiring God as the Ultimate Source of Pleasure.)
For everyone else, the question here is not whether it’s wrong, because you know it is. But for you, the temptation is cosmic and one weak moment is all it takes for your resolve to crash to the ground and scatter like a jar of marbles.
And you’re tempted to leave the marbles where they lay. You can’t win, so why bother? No matter how many times you say you’re done, it returns. Maybe a week later, maybe four months, maybe not for another three years. No matter when it happens, you can bet it will come knocking again.
Before you decide to toss in the hat and give up, let me tell you a story.
Come Into My Garden
I won’t claim to be a master gardener, but one thing I have tons of experience with is weeds. I have no trouble telling the weeds from the vegetables. That knowledge alone won’t stop the weeds from taking over, however. To do that, I must put on gloves, get down on my hands and knees, and pull anything that threatens to choke out the tomatoes and beans.
The weeds that grow in places I regularly tend come out much easier than those growing in more neglected areas.
I hate pulling weeds. Of all the tasks a gardener does on a regular basis, pulling weeds is most loathsome to me—even more so than turning the chicken manure in my compost pile.
But, alas, weeding is one of those necessary evils.
Years of pulling weeds, however, have led me to discover that the weeds that grow in places I regularly tend come out much easier than those growing in more neglected areas. No matter how tall they are, their roots just aren’t as deep. Often one good yank is all it takes. And they don’t return as quickly.
Look Inside Your Heart …
The moral of this story is not complicated. When it comes to weeding sin out of your life, the areas you clear most often come clean faster and last longer. Contrast that with what happens when sin is allowed to grow unhindered. Roots grow deeper, stalks become stronger, vines entwine themselves with other plants, choking the life from the good fruit.
Weeds like that don’t pull easily.
The only solution is to keep fighting. Each time you resist, it becomes easier to walk away. It doesn’t matter how far you’ve fallen. You might find yourself entangled in the weed of a “same old sin,” but the faster you pull it, the less it can choke you. Do it as many times as it takes.
Repent and return to Jesus seventy times a day if you must, but don’t give up!
You don’t have to have all the answers.
but, hey, why not?
Bring me your questions about faith, life, God, the Bible… and I’ll help you find the answers.
Bible Verses to Help You Overcome Habitual Sin
Look to the Lord and his strength; seek his face always.
1 Chronicles 16:11
But as for you, be strong and do not give up, for your work will be rewarded.
2 Chronicles 15:7
Let your eyes look straight ahead; fix your gaze directly before you. Give careful thought to the paths for your feet and be steadfast in all your ways.
Proverbs 4:25-26
Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning.
Lamentations 3:22-23
Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 3:13-14
Joy is having deep roots in Jesus. He will always help guard us and recognize the weeds in life. Thank you, Lauren!
God Bless.
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