"The dog ate my homework." I don’t know if that excuse has actually been used. But I have heard an even better excuse for not coming to church: "I don’t go to church because it’s just a habit." The reasoning is that "habits" are things we do without thinking. Like washing our hands before we eat ~ we just do them. We might not even be thinking about what we’re doing or why we’re doing it.
Yet is doing something out of habit necessarily a bad thing in and of itself? "Of course, it depends on the habit." Kissing one’s spouse before going to bed might be "just a habit." But does that mean that we shouldn’t do it? Does being a habit make it any less meaningful or important to the relationship? What might happen if one spouse just stops doing it?
Which brings me to Lent. In Lent, we take on a spiritual practice or two that we haven’t done before or have stopped doing or do only occasionally. Like reading a Bible passage each day or fasting one day each week or getting up a little earlier in the morning to pray or giving up something. These we call disciplines. We do these not to score points with God, but to go deeper into our souls and our relationship with God -- to learn more about ourselves, or to become more skilled in our Christian lives. Over time, we become increasingly more practiced in these new disciplines. Sometimes, they become so interwoven into our lives and daily living that we continue to practice them. Eventually, they can even become an habitual part of our lives -- even of who we are.
"Nature abhors a vacuum" is as true for our souls and spiritual life as it is for the physical universe. Jesus told a story about that: A person who sweeps the soul of bad habits but then doesn’t refurnish the soul with good habits will soon become even more full of bad habits than before. If all we do in Lent is spiritual house cleaning, we’ve done only half. What will be the new furnishings you’ll bring in? What discipline is going to become your habit?
Father Ken
SIDE NOTE: Due to the overwhelming obligations that I have, to my Birdsong family, the Memphis Wedding Community, and to our young spiritual minds at the Academy...this will be the last Inspirations column that we will present. It has been a joy to share my thoughts, and prayers with you; and I encourage you to visit Dr. Owens and myself, at Birdsong Christian Church in Milledgville, or to find a church home that touches your heart. I remain available to any who need me, merely a phone call away.
God Bless You.
