If you are like most teenagers, you developed most of the habits you have now when you were a little kid. How you brush your teeth, what you do before you go to sleep at night, how you eat spaghetti, etc. These were habits that you formed a long time ago and are still influencing the way you do things today. Is this a bad thing? Of course not, but it will make you think about some other habits that might not be so good. What are other habits that you have formed over the past couple of years that are influencing the way you live your life, things that matter more than how you brush your teeth? Typically, the shows and movies you are willing to watch on TV is a habit that you’ve already formed. You have habits for almost everything you do on a regular basis. Guys learn at early ages certain habits that influence the way they treat women for the rest of their lives. Girls acquire habits when they’re young of focusing on appearance and making sure everything about them looks attractive. You habits shape who you are and dictate what you do everyday.

When it comes to dealing with the temptations in our lives, some habits lead us down the same paths of temptation day after day. On the other hand, you may have formed a habit that helps you fight a certain temptation. The “Just Say No” campaign was very successful in keeping kids off drugs and teaching them healthy habits of staying away from harmful substances. But primarily, people struggle with repetitive temptations because they are involved in some sort of habit that is leading them to the same places and causing the same results over and over. “Why is it so hard for me to get this under control?” Struggling Christians ask themselves this question all the time. They say things like, “I’m a Christian; I shouldn’t still be struggling with things like this!” You might be at this point with something in your life. If not, the time will come. What you do when that time comes is what really matters.

Repetitive temptations are the ones that Satan knows he can easily use against you and does very often. He got you into a bad habit of giving in, you kept justifying it, and now it’s a habit. So what are you going to do about getting rid of it? You’ve been trying to become intolerant and think you’ve made some progress. It’s now to the point where it really bothers you every time you give in to this temptation, but you just can’t seem to break the habit. We’ve all be there. What you need to do is something drastic. If you think you’ve become intolerant of something, but are still losing battles in that area, I hate to break it to you, but you are still tolerating that temptation. It may cause you more guilt now that you realize how bad it is for you, but you haven’t become intolerant. How drastic are you willing to be to become intolerant of that temptation? Are you willing to flee from it? 1 Corinthians 6:18 tells us to “Flee from sexual immorality…” This is not a joke. It’s not just talking about sexual sins, either. This concept holds true for drug abuse, cussing, lying, stealing, cheating, drinking, immoral movies, etc. What you must do is separate yourself from the things that are bringing you down. In short, you must form some new habits. It takes a long time for most people to break old habits by replacing them with new ones, usually up to 30 days and sometimes longer than that. But you can do it. Take whatever measure you must to ensure that Satan will not win another battle in that area of your life. And remember, you shouldn’t work alone when it comes to fighting Satan. In the next and final lesson for this series, we will discuss the one vital component that will help you develop intolerance for those temptations that seem to kick you over time and again, the work of the Holy Spirit.

PRINTABLE VERSION: LESSON 9