For non-smoking men between the ages of 55 through 59, there is one chance in 8197 of dying from lung cancer; light smokers, one chance in 2075; moderate smokers, one chance in 867; heavy smokers, one chance in 573. For nonsmokers between the ages of 60 through 64, there is one chance in 7092 of dying from lung cancer; light smokers, one in 1081; moderate smokers, one in 552; heavy smokers, one in 371. For nonsmokers over 65 years of age, there is one chance in 3165 of dying from lung cancer; light smokers, one in 412; moderate smokers, one in 393; heavy smokers, one in 296.¹  Death by bad habits doesn’t have to be your legacy. You can overcome destructive bad habits by the power of God.

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A Partial List of Bad Habits

• Nail biting
• Smoking
• Picking Your Nose
• Overeating or food addiction
• Procrastination
• Compulsive shopping
• Binge drinking or habitual intoxication
• Gambling
• Drug addiction

Make Sure You Have the Right Conception of What It Takes

• How long does it take to establish a new habit or break an old one?
• However long it takes!
• You thought I was going to say 21 days, didn’t you?
• It is a common misconception that it takes 21 days to break a habit.
• It’s a fable.
• Some of these habits have taken years to establish.
  • The amount of time it takes to break a habit varies depending on the severity of the addiction to the habit.
• If you have a real severe habit, it may take you a bit longer than 21 days.
  • But who cares?
  • If it takes an extra day does that mean you failed?
  • Of course not.
• What if it takes an extra month or even a couple of extra months?
  • Does that mean you didn’t try hard enough?
  • Surely not.
• You will find out that breaking bad habits takes hard work and it takes however long it takes.
• The important thing is not the time it takes but the freedom you get to enjoy.

Be Patient with Yourself

• Sometimes people can be impatient and take the ‘hammer to people’ who struggle with certain habits.
• They make generic statements like… Why don’t you ‘just stop it?’
  • For an example, we look at an obese person and think, “Well, why don’t they just stop? – Look at them – Why don’t they just go on a diet?”
  • The truth is it’s harder for them to stop because they are wedged in by an ingrained habit.
• Mercy rather than impatience is the better way.
• The CDC,  The Center for Disease Control and Prevention – did a study entitled “Killing Ourselves.”
  • They found that avoidable behaviors like cigarette use, poor diet and lack of exercise were the underlying cause of half of the deaths in the United States in the year 2000.
  • Deaths caused by:
    • Tobacco: 435,000
    • Inactivity and bad eating: 400,000
    • Alcohol consumption: 85,000
• So, it is more than telling a person to ‘just stop’,
• People know this stuff is bad for them and they do it anyway.
• Why do people do destructive things?
• The answer is not always simple.
• So, have mercy.
• Give people a break.
• Patience though is a two-way street.
• The person with the habit needs to be patient with themselves.

Refuse to Be Double Minded

• Doublemindedness is an instability which affects multiple areas.
• It’s another reason why you want to get rid of bad habits as a whole.
• Here is a doubleminded guy in the book James.
• He prays and asks God for wisdom but wonders and doubts whether God is going to give it to him.
• The conclusion?

James 1:8 (ESV)
8 he is a double-minded man, unstable in ALL his ways.

• The instability didn’t just manifest in the area he wavered but it spread to ALL his ways.
• Similarly, a bad habit in one area will seep into ALL our ways.
• They have a ripple effect.
• Man is spirit, soul, and body meaning we are interconnected.
• So, if your soul is messed up, it’s going to affect your body.
• One of the biggest lies the devil tells people is that it’s okay to have a bad habit because you’re not hurting anybody,  just yourself.
• That’s not what the Bible teaches.
• The scriptures tell us that all believers are part of a single functioning body called the body of Christ.
• If one body part/member suffers, the entire body suffers.

Stay Serious about Being Free

Proverbs 18:9 (The Message)
9 Slack habits and sloppy work are as bad as vandalism.

• How serious are you about beating a bad habit?
• How serious are you about freedom?
• Jesus shows us the path.

John 8:32 (ESV)
32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.

• Freedom from a bad habit is irrespective of what happened to you in the past.
• If Jesus gave us the means whereby we can be free and instead we are still bound, then bondage is a personal choice.
• The truth is.
  • “You are as holy as you want to be.”
  • “You are as free as you want to be.”
• As soon as you change your “want to”, you are on your way to freedom.
• You may have experienced this with a loved one.
  • YOU KNOW their behavior is not good a good behavior.
  • You grieve for them.
  • You want them to be free.
• But, your ‘want to’ is not enough.
• Your prayers for them are not enough.
• They have to ‘want to’.
• This happens between parents and children all the time.
• The parent wants the child to be free more than the child wants it.
• Until an individual gets serious about beating the thing that’s bugging them, they will remain as they are.

Breaking bad habits takes a strong commitment, an investment of time, a lot of hard work, and a willingness to be uncomfortable while you are transitioning from bondage to freedom. If you are not willing to do that, I doubt that I can help you. –Joyce Meyer

• You must want to be free more than anything else.

Call to Action:

You are a powerful human being and you can beat the thing that is bugging you. But you must be intentional in your approach. Un-intentionality breeds nothingness. Focused and intentional is the ticket.

Question: If you have beaten a bad habit in your life, would please tell us how you do it? Your testimony could be the means of helping another person get free.  Please leave your testimony in the comments section below.

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