Know My Habits; Know My Heart

 

One afternoon a man arrived at home from work to find total mayhem in his house. His three children were outside, still in their pajamas, playing in the mud, with empty food boxes and wrappers strewn all around the front yard. The door of his wife’s car was open, as was the front door to the house. Proceeding through the entry, he found an even bigger mess. A lamp had been knocked over, and a throw rug was wadded up against one wall. In the front room the TV was loudly blaring a cartoon and the family room was cluttered with toys and assorted items of clothing. In the kitchen dishes filled the sink, breakfast food was spilled on the counter, dog food was spilled on the floor, a broken glass lay under the table, and a small pile of sand was spread by the back door. He quickly headed up the stairs, stepping over toys and more piles of clothing, looking for his wife. He was worried she may be ill, or that something serious had happened. He found her lounging in the bedroom, curled up in the bed, still in her pajamas, reading a book. She casually looked up at him and asked how his day went. He looked at her bewildered and asked, “What happened here today?” She again smiled and answered, “You know every day when you come home from work and ask me what in the world did I do today?” “Yes,” was his incredulous reply. She continued, “Well, today I didn’t do it.”

Billy had been misbehaving and was sent to his room. After a while he emerged and informed his mother that he had thought it over and then said a prayer. “Fine,” said the pleased mother. “If you ask God to help you not misbehave, He will help you.” Boldly the boy stated, “Oh, I didn’t ask Him to help me not misbehave – I asked him to help you put up with me.”

[Luke 4:16-21] Know my habits; Know my heart! I recently heard a nationally renowned speaker say that he could discern the values that any person holds dear if he had access to only two documents. And what are these two documents that hold the secrets of anyone’s heart? According to the speaker, they are the checkbook and the daily planner. From these two sources he could determine how one spends money and how a person spends one’s time. In that sense, I concluded that the speaker was correct. Everything that is truly important to me, is reflected in my checkbook and daily planner.

Jesus had habits just like everyone else. By carefully noting the text cited above, we gain some insight into the values that Jesus held dear. Note that He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day “as was His custom.” The obvious importance of this passage is that Jesus had, over a lengthy process of time, developed the habit of going into the synagogue for the express purpose of worship on the Sabbath. His custom was one developed of His own volition and not by force of another. In the synagogue He could associate with others who respected God’s laws and shared His view of their importance. He could read from the inspired Scriptures, God’s Divine source of wisdom. He could discuss how the Scriptures applied to His own life and to the lives of those about Him. The fact that Jesus habitually visited the synagogue on a weekly basis reveals much about the character of Jesus. I have heard people argue, “I can be a Christian without going to church every Sunday!” Usually, I have heard this line in defense of one’s habit of not attending church services. With Jesus’ custom of attending the synagogue in view, I wonder if an informed person would make this argument to Jesus? I hardly think so! Why not? Because everyone knows – Know my habits; Know my heart! Add to your New Year “to-do-list” - Develop a new habit of worship and giving thanks to God every Sunday.