Rinse, repeat.
“Rinse, repeat” is a phrase we can read on every bottle of shampoo in our homes, but it also has an urban use that indicates a pattern of behavior that we fall into over and over which is not always helpful.
Set your mind on things that are above, not on things that are on earth, for you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. Col 3:3
Everyone develops habitual behaviors, some that we hope to continue and some we want to stop. What is it that has to change for us to free ourselves of repetitive but destructive actions? For Christians who are followers of Jesus, who have asked the Lord into their life and want to do his will, it is to change the way we think. Through his life, death and resurrection, Jesus broke the power of sin in our lives. We are no longer compelled to do wrong, yet we still sin because our minds are stuck in the world with old behaviors that have become bad habits.
Rinse, repeat.
You know what I mean. Maybe you have a habit of responding with anger, overindulging in food or drink, selfishness, impurity, or crude talk. You might have even rationalized that it’s just your way, but now you are bothered by it and you want to stop. Good! So, what can you do? If we understand and believe that the Lord has broken sin’s power, then we must work with his grace to break old sinful habits. God wants us to stop and the good news is that we don’t do that alone. The Holy Spirit is active in breaking into our thinking and helping us turn away from those things that lead us to destruction. The Spirit delivers us from evil and empowers our will to do God’s will.
It up to us to cooperate by working at transforming our thinking and learn to think like Jesus- clothe yourselves with the new self which is being renewed in knowledge... Col 3:10. Stop thinking like the world and start appropriating the life and thought pattern of the Lord. God wants us to develop habits that help us live the way that he wants, in joy and peace, and love. How do you gain knowledge? Let me ask, "Do you read the Bible?" If no, start. Let the word of God dwell in you richly Col 3: 16. Just reading a couple of chapters a day absorbing God’s own words can be a major step in renewing your thinking.
And whatever you do in word or deed do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. Col 3:17 Lord, renew our minds that we may live your way.