“You were taught to put away your former way of life, your old self, corrupt and deluded by its lusts, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to clothe yourselves with the new self, created according to the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.” Ephesians 4:22-24
Like many smokers, I tried many many times. Just quit – easy right? Not. To quit smoking I had to figure a few things out.
The main thing, after figuring out I didn’t need this habit was to break it. Many addictions are an addiction to habit more than anything else. Yes, the chemical parts of the brain play a big part but those often last short times before purged. The biggest and toughest part of a habit is the habit itself. For a smoker, that is the break or lunch cigarette, or the one after dinner, or at wake up. Whenever the habit’s tempting call is strongest because that’s when it’s usually fed.
So, step one after deciding to break the habit is to replace it. I replaced the habit of smoking with my Bible. Any time that was normal smoke time, I spent reading scripture. I began to look forward to my ‘new habit’ time. The physical temptation was still there but typically only lasted a few moments.
I think it was St. Ignatius who taught that success in fighting temptation isn’t about focusing upon avoiding the temptation. That just keeps the temptation front and center on the mind. Feeding it with your thoughts of avoidance. You don’t even try to ignore it, which means you’re focusing thought on avoiding it. To defeat the moment(s) of temptation, we have to depend upon Jesus. So, don’t fight the temptation, simply look “over its shoulder” at Jesus. Focus upon the eyes of Christ. The temptation doesn’t leave the room but looses its power because you give it no attention. You may be aware of it but the more you look past it to Jesus, the quieter it’s yelling becomes and the more focused is Jesus.
By focusing upon the Word in my Bible, my eyes and thoughts were focused on the words (the eyes and voice of Jesus and God). The temptation lost power as Jesus’ words became louder and more ‘addictive.’
The habit addiction is often the hard part to break. So replace the habit with another – God is a great habit to have and build upon.
This year, my challenge to all on The Road of Faith is to overcome the habits of temptation and sin by ‘looking over its shoulder’ and focusing your eyes and attention upon God. Start simply with the Psalms or a Gospel. When the temptation is there, pick a Psalm and read until the temptation is gone. A good Gospel story to read is from Matthew 14;22-33, when Peter walks on water. He does this by fighting the temptations of the storm by focusing on Jesus’s eyes.
In time, the temptation will lessen and go away because Jesus will take over and become bigger. The ‘old man’ will become a distant memory while the ‘new man’ becomes a giant of faith who is able to stand against giants and walk on water in the midst of storms in the faith of God.
Reflect today on the habits and temptations in your life. Resolve to keep your Bible close and tabbed, ready to draw when the temptation starts to whisper. Jesus can overcome any temptation’s storm, from smoking to anger to pornography or whatever. No giant can stand against Him. Jesus will draw you from the sea of temptations. Change your focus.
“The night is far gone, and the day is near. Let’s therefore throw off the deeds of darkness, and let’s put on the armor of light.” Romans 13:12
“seeing that you have put off the old man with his doings, and have put on the new man, who is being renewed in knowledge after the image of his Creator.” Colossians 3:9-10