What
Do Habits Have To Do With Assurance?
I
know, at first glance, this sermon’s title sounds like we are mixing apples and
oranges. It looks like we are trying to
join human works with God’s grace and call it salvation. Something like telling Jesus at the pearly
gates: “Thanks for saving me, but don’t forget what I did!”
I
know that you have heard all this argued out before until you feel
punch-drunk! On one hand, you are
uncomfortable with the thought that human works could ever be good enough; yet,
you are also uncomfortable with the thought that our assurance of salvation
rests solely on believing that Jesus did it all on the Cross. And all this leaves you in the fog of not
being sure of your salvation. Am I
right or wrong?
Let’s
step back and look at the big picture.
The goal of the plan of salvation is to restore in you everything that
sin has damaged—physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. God’s plan for you is to make you safe to
save. God’s plan for the universe is to
take out of this world men and women who can be trusted with eternal life.
Jesus
helps us in many ways to see the big picture. Let’s listen to Him as He
finished up His sermon on the mount: “Not everyone who says to Me,
Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My
Father in heaven. Many will say to Me
in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons
in your name, and done many wonders in Your name?” And this I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from
Me, you who practice lawlessness!’
Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mind, and does them, I will
like him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended,
the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on the house; and it did not fall,
for it was founded on the rock. Now
everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish
man who built his house on the sand: and the rain descended, the floods came,
and the wind blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall.” Matthew 7:21-27, NKJV.
These
are very chilling words! Imagine, for
years being recognized as a good church member; in fact, a very good church
member who contributed at least a double tithe, and recognized as an
exceptionally bright student of the Bible.
In fact, known around town as a faithful Sabbath-keeper, never caught
cheating anybody. More than that, known
for a record of giving many Bible studies and for leading many into the
Adventist Church.
Then
to hear from Jesus, “I never knew you for what you said you were. Your life record, I admit, looks wonderful
except it was built on sand—just a sand castle that, sooner or later, did not
hold up under pressure.”
Here
are those who thought they were saved, living with presumptuous assurance.
Their lives were based on principles that were primarily self-centered. They did their good works to impress
themselves or others, either their friends or God Himself. Their lives amounted to only beautiful sandcastles
to be washed away by the restless sea.
In
practical terms, what was the difference in the lives of those with
presumptuous assurance (sand castles) and those with genuine assurance
(rock-assurance)? Sounds like the five
wise and the five foolish bridesmaids! What
was going on in the neural patterns of each group that made them think and act
the way they each did?
Let’s
first ask—what does it mean to build on the rock?
Ellen
White gives the answer better than anything I could say: “We build on Christ by
obeying His word. It is not he who merely enjoys righteousness, that is
righteous, but he who does righteousness. . . . Religion consists in doing the words of Christ; not doing to earn
God's favor, but because, all undeserving, we have received the gift of His
love. Christ places the salvation of man, not upon profession merely, but upon
faith that is made manifest in works of righteousness. Doing, not saying
merely, is expected of the followers of Christ. It is through action that
character is built. . . . As you receive the word in faith, it will give
you power to obey. As you give heed to the light you have, greater light will
come. You are building on God's word, and your character will be builded after
the similitude of the character of Christ.” MB:149, 150, italics supplied.
It
would be hard to misunderstand these two paragraphs! Our question is: how is this done? How does it happen so that “through action . . . character is
built”? In my life and yours?
That
is a powerful concept. Not through
words only, not even through Bible study and prayer only—but through “action
character is built”! So, the big
question: How do actions affect character?
The
key word is “habit.” Those who are eventually redeemed
will be habitually “keep[ing] the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus”
(Revelation 14:12, present tense, “making a life-habit of keeping”). So let’s talk about habits!
Habits
can not be measured like muscles or observed on a electrocardiogram. “Habit” is a word that describes what
happens when thoughts or acts are repeated. Habits are truly good
friends! Think of the time we save
(without taking time to think as we once did) when we tie our shoes, drive
cars, use the typewriter or computer, etc.!
Remember the hours and weeks it took to develop these skills that we no
longer have to consciously repeat, over and over, just to get it right! Habits are our
built-in anti-stress kits
I like the way Ellen White put it: “The power
of self-restraint strengthens by exercise. That which at first seems difficult,
by constant repetition grows easy and right thoughts and actions become
habitual.” MH:491
Habits
have lasting consequences: “Actions repeated form habits, habits form
character, and by the character our destiny for time and for eternity is
decided.” COL:356. Habits do
determine destiny!
So,
how are habits made or unmade? Wise
Solomon said that as a man thinks, “so is he” (Proverbs 23:7). We think with our
brain cells. Brain cells lie about an
inch behind our forehead. These brain
cells are the capital of the body, the power center for all that happens to
every nerve and muscle. The brain’s messages are sent “electrically” at
astonishing speeds that scientists have not yet been able to replicate on the
most advanced computer. And we have some computers today making
billions of decisions every second!
Just
this week we all learned that IBM is
building two supercomputers to be completed by 2004. The ANCI Purple will complete 100 thousand billion (17 zeros)
calculations per second—a speed known as 100 teraflops; the Blue Gene/L
will be three times faster. Although they will lack consciousness and
the capacity for thought, they will be approaching the speed and power of our
brains, so say the computer scientists!
So
how do our brains work? The entire
brain operates on 10 watts of electricity.
Each brain cell has many fibers called dendrites which receive all kinds
of information constantly. One long
fiber called the axon transmits messages between cells. 3T:369
The
microscope shows us that on the end of the axon are tiny enlargements called
boutons (French, for “buttons”). These
boutons secrete chemicals (ACH and GABA) which stimulate the next cell to send
a message down the nerve path to whatever muscle or organ is to be activated.
But there is no direct connection between the axon and the next cell’s
dendrites, only a tiny space, called the synapse. How does the message get across this synapse? Through the chemicals of the boutons.
Here
is where it gets interesting. Some
axons have more boutons than others.
Why? Because that axon has been stimulated more than others. More stimulation, more boutons. With more boutons, the easier it is the next
time for similar messages to flow along that particular pathway. Habits are
forming!
How
are boutons formed? Any thought or act
forms a bouton. Thoughts and acts often
repeated build more boutons on the end of that particular axon so that it becomes
easier to repeat that same thought or act when the same situation is again
faced. Just like cutting across the lawn eventually wears a worn path, so
repeated thoughts actually produce physical and chemical changes in our nerve
pathways. Thoughts don’t vanish into
thin air, they are etched into a biochemical pattern that we call habits.
The
good news and the bad news is that boutons never disappear. Right!
Frightening, as well as assuring!
For example, recovered alcoholics tell each other that they “are always”
alcoholics. So they avoid friends who
drink and places where alcohol is likely to be served Chocoholics and those involved in “fatal attractions” with the
opposite sex, never lose those boutons that make it easier for them to “cave in” the next time
temptation stares them in the face.[1]
But
the good news is that the bad-habit boutons can be overpowered by good-habit
boutons. Those who find it easy to be
angry, to be lazy or self-centered, can believe that with the right set of the
mind and the power of God, new habits of self-control, industriousness, and
caring can be established firmly.
Solomon is right: We are what we think.
Sounds
too easy? Here is how we build more yes
or no boutons, whichever is appropriate for the occasion. For example, when we are used to saying
”Yes” to bad choices, we must build “No” boutons.
Research
indicates that we can change most any habit in a matter of weeks—some say 21
days! Remember Paul’s counsel to Titus:
“For the grace of God has appeared to all men.
It teaches us to say ‘No” to ungodliness and to live self-controlled,
upright, and godly lives . . . while we wait for the blessed hope.”( 2:11,
12) In other words, when we choose to
resist temptation, when we say, “No!”, GABA is secreted at the synapse.
GABA puts the brakes on and keeps that cell from firing. With repeated resistance (repeated “No’s”
when before, the choices were “Yes’s”), more “No” boutons are formed.. With more “No” boutons on the end of that
axon that had formerly led to inappropriate sexual behavior or quick anger,
GABA (the brakes) becomes even more powerful, making it virtually impossible to
do wrong in that particular situation again.
Sound
too simple? There is a warning. The GABA secretion does not function well,
most often not at all, when we lose sleep or get fatigued for whatever reason,
good or bad. GABA (the brake on our
decision making) is affected by fatigue much sooner than ACH (the accelerator
on our decision making). That is, when
we are tired, we find it easier to do and say what we please, we have lost our
braking power. That is why committee
meetings in the evenings, Saturday night flings, and night-time confrontations
with others (children, spouses, etc.) most often turn into regrettable
experiences. When we are tired, the
go-for-it, tell-it-like-it-is, have-fun attitude has no GABA to say no!
To
get even more practical, most of life is a matter of conflicting choices—shall
I, or shall I not? One brain cell says,
“Why not? Go for it!” The other says,
“No, you’d better not!” Which one wins?
The one with the most boutons built up by habit! One brain cell sees the
extra piece of scrumptious pecan pie or the banana sundae; or the possibility
of getting a better grade by cheating because everyone is doing it; or habitual
eating between meals and skipping breakfast; or undue familiarity with the
opposite sex, etc. However, another
brain cell now becomes activated; it sees the same temptations and says, “No,
there’s a better way. I choose to abide
in Christ and all those negative choices will keep me from my full potential. I
want to honor my parents (or my spouse, or my God). I want to be trusted.”
All
this choosing (mental activity) takes electrical energy. When negative temptation of any kind says
“Go for it! Looks good, take a piece;”
or, “Go for it, no one will ever know”—30 millivolts, shall we say, of ACH
energy surges into your action cell.
But your better self says (if you are not in fatigue), “Hold it, there
are consequences down the road I don’t want to live with. Don’t fire!
[that is, “Don’t cheat,” “Don’t take that extra piece, etc.”].” If the better brain cell has more boutons,
GABA jumps into action with 40 millivolts, shall we say, of electrical power,
saying “No!” Because it takes only ten
millivolts for a cell to fire, the brain cell with the most boutons wins![2]
The
scenario, of course, can be reversed.
If the brain cell saying, “Go for it!” has the most boutons, ACH
wins. Especially if the brain cells are
tired and GABA, our brakes, are not functioning.
This
is how habits are formed. More boutons (because of the same thoughts and
actions repeated often) equal more electric current to say “No” or “Yes” at the
proper times. The more boutons
producing good habit pattern, the more
spontaneous, habitual, and natural will be the ability to make right decisions
in the future. That is how right decisions form right habits that form right
characters.[3]
However,
Christians should be realists—negative habits are always there in the shadows,
because all boutons remain in place.[4] We may repent and set our feet in right
paths but the familiarity with the former temptations is a crease in the paper
that can not be completely ”uncreased.”[5] That is why wise Paul could say, “Let him
who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall” (1 Corinthians 10:12).
At
this point, at this crucial knife edge of each person’s future on which all
else balances, we must be very clear and honest unto ourselves: Will power, no
matter how strong a person is, will never be sufficient to build enough boutons
so that we will be above temptation. We
live in a very dynamic universe and evil forces beyond the human are impressing
us constantly (Ephesians 6:12, 13).
But
God does stand aside and merely watch us develop good habits. He has provided for us the personal
intervention of the Holy Spirit, the Eternal Energy of the Universe, who
prompts us to make right boutons and to assist us whenever we choose His help
in putting the right boutons along the right axons. But God does not make the right boutons for us—if we do not choose
His way. This choosing, this response
to the prompting of the Spirit, is the first step in making new boutons. God does not choose for us any more than
He does our breathing for us! [6]
The
good news is that He has wired us to succeed with a neural system that defies
human imagination or duplication. All
He wants from us is our choice. Each
right choice becomes another bouton, until the “weight” of good boutons forms a
strong and good habit.
The
next question is: How can we make healthy brain cells every day? First, make sure that we are feeding them
with rich, pure blood. How do we do that?
By eating food that is healthful, such as fruit, nuts, vegetables, and
grains. By avoiding animal products
that send cholesterol and other undesirable elements zinging through our blood
stream. By drinking plenty of water
daily. By breathing deeply in fresh air.
By exercising daily so that all
that water, good nutrients, and fresh oxygen is hurried through the blood
stream, feeding those brain cells minute by minute!
When
brain cells are not fed properly, we doze at the wheel of our car, for
instance. Or, in our classes. We are setting ourselves up to make poor
decisions; we become lazy, grouchy, and miserable.
But
brain cells are even more important than helping us to think clearly and
quickly. They are not only where
habits are formed. Brain cells must
be kept healthy because the brain is the only place in our bodies where the
Holy Spirit connects with us.
Let
the following quotation sink in: “The brain nerves that connect with the whole
system are the medium through which heaven communicates with man and affects
the inmost life. Whatever hinders the circulation of the electric current in the
nervous system, thus weakening the vital powers and lessening mental
susceptibility, makes it more difficult to arouse the moral nature.” [7]
Think
about it! Anything we do to improve our
general health makes it easier to hear the Holy Spirit! When I discovered that principle some years
ago, I surely paid more attention to what I ate, how I exercised, and when I
rested. The thought also occurred to me
that when I violated simple health rules, I was tuning down the Holy Spirit and
thus not getting the confirming Voice of assurance that I want to live with day
by day (1 John 3:24).
Imagine
that! How I treat my physical body
directly affects my mental and moral sensibilities and where I spend eternal life.
That sounds very much like “doing” the will of God (Philippians 2: 13) and
building on the rock that Jesus talked about. (Matthew 7:21, 24). This is the rationale for the Adventist
emphasis on health principles.
Through
it all, God holds before us, day and night, the reasons why we should choose
His way of making sense out of our lives.
He never wearies. He is always
ready to provide the electrical energy
that jump-starts our electrical system whenever we choose to plug into His
power. And He never gives up on us,
even if we fail again and again in the self-correcting process of reaching our
goals. He is already there to
jump-start us again with more energy to make more boutons of the right
kind. That is what Paul meant when he
said, “God is at work in you, both to will and to do His good pleasure.” Phil 2:18
Remember
the big picture: Whether we want to believe it or not, the day is coming when those
prepared for the Lord to come will have settled “into the truth, both intellectually
and spiritually, so they cannot be move.” Or, more settled into self-centered,
envious, hateful persons, so they too cannot be moved!.
This is powerful good news! We don’t have to be grouchy, stingy, self-centered, or angry forever. Not when the Holy Spirit gets to work! This is God’s way of making us safe to save so that the angels and unfallen worlds will be confident that we can be trusted with eternal life. This is why Jesus ended His sermon on the mount talking about the habits of professed Christians and so will I: Those who build their lives on bad habits will hear those awful words, “I never knew you for what you said you were.” Those who build their lives on good habits will survive every storm and will hear their Lord say, “You loyal ones, you can be trusted with eternal life.”
© 2002 Herbert E. Douglass. All rights reserved.
douglass@starstream.net
[1] “Let none flatter themselves that sins cherished for a time can easily be given up by and by. This is not so. Every sin cherished weakens the character and strengthens habit; and physical, mental, and moral depravity is the result. You may repent of the wrong you have done, and set your feet in right paths; but the mold of your mind and your familiarity with evil will make it difficult for you to distinguish between right and wrong. Through the wrong habits formed, Satan will assail you again and again.”—Christ’s Object Lessons, p. 281.
[2]Elden M. Chalmers and Esther L. Chalmers, Making the Most of Family Living (Nampa, ID: Pacific Press Publishing Association, 1979), pp. 61-67
[3] “The power of self-restraint strengthens by exercise. That which at first seems difficult, by constant repetition grows easy, until right thoughts and actions become habitual. If we will we may turn away from all that is cheap and inferior, and rise to a high standard; we may be respected by men and beloved of God.”—The Ministry of Healing, p. 491.
[4] “We should not be slow in breaking up a sinful habit. Unless evil habits are conquered, they will conquer us, and destroy our happiness.”—Testimonies, vol. 4, p. 654.
[5] “What the child sees and hears is drawing deep lines upon the tender mind, which no after circumstances in life can entirely efface. The intellect is now taking shape, and the affections receiving direction and strength. Repeated acts in a given course become habits. These may be modified by severe training, in afterlife, but are seldom changed.”—Child Guidance, pp. 199, 200.
[6] “While these youth [four Hebrew youth in Babylon] were working out their own salvation, God was working in them to will and to do of His good pleasure. Here are revealed the conditions of success. To make God's grace our own, we must act our part. The Lord does not propose to perform for us either the willing or the doing. His grace is given to work in us to will and to do, but never as a substitute for our effort. Our souls are to be aroused to cooperate. The Holy Spirit works in us, that we may work out our own salvation. This is the practical lesson the Holy Spirit is striving to teach us.”—Ellen White Comments, SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 4, p. 1167.
[7] Education, p. 209.