INGRAINING

The good must be a habit rather than a choice

Men of faith will want to do the good that brings them closer to God and to avoid the bad that draws them away because they seek relationship with the one who created us.

To that end, we know that spiritual disciplines are good and Worldly indulgences are bad. And yet—too often—we find ourselves doing the bad rather than the good, and despair. Like the Apostle Paul we say, “I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing.”

To consistently do the good rather than the bad, a man must make the good a habit rather than a choice. A habit is an ingrained tendency, like brushing one’s teeth before bed, while choice is a selection among options, like deciding which movie to watch. To choose requires thought, energy, and effort. But a habit, once ingrained, requires none of that.

By making the good a habit rather than a choice, a man becomes consistent and consistency is the spinal cord of all virtue.

The good must be a habit rather than a choice