Rusty Bolts

Saturday I was taking apart our old trampoline and swing set. As I was taking the bolts out some of them where rusty and some were not. I thought that was weird. I guess the ones that rust didn’t get enough of whatever makes them weather/rust proof. The rusty ones as I assumed were pretty tough to get the nuts off, they looked like they would be. The ones that weren’t rusty as assumed were easier, once I broke them loose I could pretty much loosen them the rest of the way with my fingers. Every now and then though I would get one of those un-rusted shiny ones started and then I wouldn’t be able to get it any further then I would break it loose again and could get it a little further and it would get stuck again in some cases they were harder to get loose than some of the rusty ones.

A couple of days ago I had posted that I finished the book Good to Great in Gods eyes. Our Church had selected the book to go through for a series of men’s breakfasts over the course of 6 months meeting for 1 Saturday morning a month. In the post I alluded to the impact chapter 10 had on me. It was on developing great habits. It started out looking at different aspects of habits, where they come from, how powerful they are in our lives. They can be anything really, whether they are sinful habits or just patterns we adhere to in our day to day lives.

First it talks about examining your habits. The routines we have whether we are aware of them or not. Then about habits that cultivate grace.

1. Put God first
2. Take out the trash
3. Do your own dishes
4. Write it down
5. Do it now
6. Turn it off

And then some practical steps for getting it done. I don’t intend to tackle all of those right now. But the second one on “taking out the trash” really made me think a lot. Chip made this statement:

“Spiritually, a lot of Christians have filled their minds with with so much garbage from the junkyard of this world that it doesn’t seem like garbage anymore. Their lives never change, and they can’t figure out why. The things that God has called “trash” – unholy attitudes and behaviors, unrighteousness, choices that will lead us down a bad path and ruin our relationships – have become very acceptable among many believers. We’re often trying to figure out what’s true and righteous when God has already told us how to find out. He has given us his Word to guide us and put His Spirit within us.”

This got me thinking about my habits and really about sinful habits that I need to remove in my life. Once I gave my life to Christ it became quite clear that there were some bad, sinful habits that needed to be removed from my life. I think some of them were obvious and would be hard to remove, – Rusty Bolts – and they were.

Then there are these other areas, that to me seem not quite so bad, but really as I grow more in Christ I realize they are not how Christ would want me to live or act and need to be removed, like – attitudes, behaviors, unrighteousness, impatience, how I communicate, the look I wear on my face, reacting instead of responding. They seem like they would be easy to change or remove -Shiny un-rusted bolts – But when I seem to be doing ok all of the sudden I fail again and again, and wonder why do I do these things, they are really quite difficult little things to get rid of sometimes.

I’m beginning to realize I don’t always know that they are there until it’s to late. I think, “where did that thought come from?” or “why on earth did I do that or just say this thing that way?” In some instances I don’t know its trash because I’ve been desensitized to it, or don’t realize it’s there until someone or the Holy Spirit points it out to me, or I just ignore the fact this habit is there because it’s comfortable. In some cases I want to cling to it and not let go… Then Christ has to break out the His Holy wrench and give me a good twist to break me loose from my sin. Thank God for His transforming power and that I’m not left to try and live like Him in my own power or devices.

I’m tired of these little shiny bolts though. Sometimes I try to rely on myself and that’s where my discouragement comes from as I feel like all I do is fail. When I should be looking to the loosening power of Christ to break these habits loose and spin the nuts free. I am thankful that He has delivered me from bondage to sin and that through Him I have hope of growing past these habits. I look forward to developing the habit of taking out the trash on a more regular basis.

S