FOCUS ON FORMING FAITH HABITS | KAIROS GLOBAL | AUGUST 2022

Author: Dr Edward Edezhath

A message at a recent prayer meeting was this: ‘I am forming some habits in you and moulding your character. Walk in my path and I will prepare you little by little for heavenly joy.’ This was followed by reflections shared on Galatians 3:27 – you who were ‘baptised into Christ have put on Christ’. Sangeetha’s reflection connected to dressing up for some marriage party. ‘Looking into the mirror, I would say, I look so beautiful.’ Putting on Christ is like that; we get a new and beautiful image. Others spoke up about their transformations making a gradual difference in their lives. 

Through habits to a lifestyle

Listening to this, I reflected on the importance of habit formation in the Jesus Youth movement. In our journey of forming a vision for the movement we have learned many lessons. For a person to grow in Christ a retreat or a set of classes alone are not enough. Most people soon ‘fall away’. Today’s youth face numerous ‘push and pull’ in their complex daily life. ‘We need regular follow-up and an effective support system to build them in a Christian lifestyle.’

Think of it, each of us is a bundle of habits, some helpful and acceptable, others not. An active Christian life is all about ‘conscious living with Christ’ or becoming aware of ourselves and taking conscious efforts to grow into the image of the Lord. In this context it is good to recall Mahatma Gandhi’s oft repeated quote, ‘Your beliefs become your thoughts, your thoughts become your words, your words become your actions, your actions become your habits, your habits become your values, your values become your destiny.’ There is need for us, personally and in our communities, to work ‘little by little’, leading towards a new lifestyle.

Reaching the Flow State

What habits are we talking about? There are personal habits and lifestyles in families and communities. We often acknowledge our sins ‘in my thoughts and in my words, in what I have done and what I have failed to do.’ So, there is need for us to cultivate good attitudes, emotional responses, patterns of conversations and other communications, and ways of doing things or refraining from certain actions. There are patterns of eating, drinking, breathing, praying, reading, talking and much more that we have to attend to. 

‘Everywhere I am super-decent, but when I talk at home, my wrong side comes out,’ one spoke up in the group. ‘If I begin my day with 30 minutes of prayer time, the day goes quite well,’ said another. ‘Just giving a warm smile to anyone is something I try to do. And if possible, I start a casual conversation,’ a young mother spoke up. ‘I know the Lord wants me to be faithful in the little things of life. But my problem is I quickly judge people and mostly think in a negative way.’ Being regular and punctual for the prayer meeting was the habit that another wanted to cultivate. The list could go on endlessly. 

And how do we go about it? Any skill requires continuous practise. Playing a musical instrument, sports, dancing or cooking, is initially quite complex and difficult, but later reaches a stage of gracefulness. The Hungarian American psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi calls this the ‘Flow State’, in which you do a complex activity with great ease, enjoyment, and complete absorption. But to make an important activity in our life into a regular habit reaching the joyful flow state we need much ‘inner push’ or what he calls ‘intrinsic motivation’. St Paul challenges us to this journey, Do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may prove what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect (Romans 12:2).

Habits with a view to form a joyful nature

But isn’t there a danger of people being blindly carried away by the example of successful heroes, ambitiously trying to cultivate habits not meant for them. Absolutely true! As a thinker rightly said, ‘Imitation is suicide.’ My old parish priest used to chase away women remaining in the church after the Mass, praying for a long time, ‘Go home and look after your family, that’s what God wants from you!’

A proper self-awareness of my unique nature and mission in life is a very important starting point for the grooming of right habits. One challenge many young people face is the fascination for glamorous and successful people. This could be faraway saints or next-door leaders.  Discovering, accepting myself, building up the little things that the Lord has given to me in my life (Mt 25:21) and learning to practise what is beautiful and joyful to me, are simple ways in which I find out my own path of cultivating faith habits. 

Interiority – connectedness - fruitfulness

‘No person is an island.’ A helpful community and its cultural setting is the best bet for helping a person to develop good lifestyle. Jesus Youth with its motto of ‘Towards a life in its fullness’ provides such a supportive ambience. The six pillars of the movement are indications of its emphasis on the cultivation as well as balancing of essential habits of interiority, community life and missionary effectiveness. 

‘Jesus Youth has a very powerful trade secret,’ I heard a remark. She went on mentioning the fascinating way JY gathers youth and how they challenge them in the context of joyful communities. Its wondrous result is that these youth welcome the Lord into their lives and start walking in the Lord in an enjoyable manner. Best habits are caught and not taught, and that happens most effectively in a lively community. Perhaps, more than powerful teachings or irritating scolding, the need of the hour is opportunities to sit and chat in a small group about our daily struggles to grow into the image of Jesus.

I began with the prophecy in our group and the discussion that followed. Later someone summed it up, ‘The Lord invites us to a walk towards fullness, leading us to an everlasting life of joy. We need to respond by examining how we are building up suitable personal habits, resulting in a rich Christian life.’

This path is well expressed in that old song, ‘Little by little every day . . . Jesus is changing me.’ Maybe this was inspired by the famous saying in the Old Testament. For your immortal spirit is in all things. Therefore, you correct little by little those who trespass . . . that they may be freed from wickedness and put their trust in you, O Lord. (Wisdom 12:1,2) Let us cooperate with the Lord’s plan of shaping each of us into the image of Jesus attending to the cultivation of beautiful and helpful habits.