Tag: habits

Posted in Through the Bible Devotions

An environment for unfaithfulness

Posted on by William Douthwaite
Photo by Nathan Cowley on pexels

A “through the bible” devotion from Judges 1 and 2.

Productivity gurus and life coaches will tell you that your environment determines your habits.

  • If you’ve got chips in the house, you’ll eat chips. Throw out the chips and fill the fridge with fruit. You’ll be much more likely to reach for a healthy snack.
  • You’ve got your guitar in a case over in the corner. You’re not as likely to pick it up and play it as you would be if it were out on a stand where you can see it.
  • Own a dog? You’ll walk a lot more than if you didn’t have one.

God’s people didn’t create an environment for faithfulness. Over and over again we read, “[They] did not drive out the inhabitants” (Judges 1:30,31,33). As a result, “The sons of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord and served the Baals” (Judges 2:11). If you’ve got Baal worshipers living in the neighborhood, you’ll be tempted to join them. And that’s exactly what happened.

I wonder what happened. Did the people just get tired of fighting? Did they think the benefit of slave labor outweighed driving out all the inhabitants of the land? Were they simply disobedient? Yeah, I’ll bet it was the last one that got them into the most trouble.

Posted in Through the Bible Devotions

Taking a break from the barber

Posted on by William Douthwaite
Photo by Brooke Cagle on Unsplash

A “through the bible” devotion from Number 6.

If you want to start a new habit or break an old one, it might help to cut things out of your life. Get the junk food out of your house if you want to eat healthier. Delete social media apps off your phone so you don’t waste time scrolling through them. Charge your phone in another room at night, so you aren’t tempted to check your messages before you go to sleep. A lot of life changes are a matter of changing your environment.

Maybe that’s the idea behind the Nazirite vow. It’s interesting that there’s a whole chapter in the bible defining what it means “When a man or woman makes a special vow, namely, the vow of a Nazirite” (Numbers 6:2). It’s not that tough, really. You don’t drink, you don’t get a haircut, and you don’t come near a dead person for a period of time. You cut some things out of your life.

It’s a time to consecrate, or separate yourself, from some of the normal things of this world. It’s a spiritual discipline that sounds like giving up something for Lent. You don’t have to do it. But if you do, you do it for God and you do it for good.

We know of a few who did this. Samson was raised in that lifestyle. John live like that when he was preaching in the wilderness. Paul did it to show that he had not abandoned his Jewish roots by embracing Christ.

I ran into J.C., a car salesman we’ve bought several vehicles from. I almost didn’t recognize him with shoulder length salt-and-pepper hair. He said, “No more haircuts for me!” He was with customers, so I never got a chance to find out why.

I’ve often wondered, “Why would you do that?” Why would you take a Nazirite vow? Josephus writes that some did it in times of need, kind of like a time of praying and fasting. Maybe someone would do it to prove their commitment to God. Or as part of a promise to leave a part of their life behind to start something new.

Jesus said, ““If anyone wants to come after Me, he must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Me” (Matthew 16:24). Sounds like the same kind of practice, updated for New Testament believers, doesn’t it?