When I think of habits that take over a person’s life I think of things like alcohol, drugs and pornography. But I also recognize that there are a plethora of other behaviors that become addictive and habitual, interfering with the normal everyday functioning of the individual. These habits easily take more and more time and energy, and depending upon what it is and what your moral beliefs about the habit may be, you may begin to experience a high level of unhappiness and discontent. That is just the beginning though, for as time goes on the discontentment turns into self-loathing, serious guilt issues, depression and despair. These feelings build upon themselves and create a vicious cycle of guilt and despair and indulgence in the habit, leaving what seems to be no way out. You learn that there is nothing to trust other than the release of participation in the addiction, the comfort that it brings, even if you regret it afterwards.
However, there comes a day when someone, something or some event comes along and hints that there is another way, that there is something to trust outside of the high you live for. I think this ‘something’ can be different for different people, but I do believe that the best ‘something’ is the love and forgiveness that Christ offers. To get there it does take a step of faith on our part to trust that forgiveness, because when we make the choice to change, that change won’t come about overnight. Trusting His grace to make up for our shortcomings is paramount to understanding the way out of the cycle. His grace proves His love for us despite what our actions are, and makes the process of change worthwhile and bearable
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