A Day-by-day devotional

March 22, 2023

Proclivities

Chronological One Year Bible Reading Plan: Joshua 10-12

Scripture of the Day: 1 John 3:1-10

During my recent travel with a friend, we shared a double room at a hotel. Upon waking up on the day when we were about to check out in the morning, I made my bed. My friend told me there is no need for that because we are checking out anyway.In practical terms, she has a point. The sheets would anyway be changed and the bed remade for the next traveler.

Oftentimes, there are things that we do by habit that makes us automatically do them, wherever we might be. Having practiced making my bed ever morning at home enabled me to form the habit. I would not feel good, in and of myself, if I leave my bed in a messy state.

Sometimes we form good habits. Sometimes, we form the bad ones. Like our proclivity to sin. Proclivity is a natural tendency or an inherent inclination to do something.

When Adam sinned, sin entered the world. Adam’s sin brought death, so death spread to everyone, for everyone sinned (Romans 5:12). Through Adam, all mankind have a fallen nature. Therefore, we are born with a proclivity to sin. What makes it worse though, is that it has a domino effect. Sin generates sin. It creates proclivity to sin. When we sin, and we do not cut it off and turn away from it, we become slave to it, repeating the same acts over and over. It clouds our judgment of right and wrong. We can even become desensitized to the act of sinning. The sin becomes a habit.

However, since we are born with a fallen nature, what we need to get rid of it is to be born again. When we are born into God’s family, we no longer make a practice of sinning. God’s life would be in us and due to that, we can’t keep on sinning (1 John 3:9). As children of God, we become a new creation. Therefore, although we will still sin, we no longer ought to want to sin. We would instead prefer to live our new life that seeks to obey and please our Father. Instead of a proclivity to sin, we would grow the habit of modeling our deeds on Jesus.

Reflection: Are you aware of the habits that you have formed out of the things that you constantly do? Examine them and see whether they are habits that add to your life, or habits that take the life out of you.

Prayer: Father God, thank you for adopting me as your child. Although I was born of Adam, you gave me Christ so that I can be made new. Help me turn away from sin that sets me far from you. Amen.