Habits and the Holy Spirit

“Did you grow up around here?” It was difficult to answer my dental hygienist’s simple question because her teeth-cleaning tools were still inside my mouth. She explained that in 1945 our city became the first in the world to add fluoride to public drinking water. Thought to prevent cavities, the treatment doesn’t require much: just 0.7 milligrams of fluoride to a liter of water. Its positive effects are obvious to a trained professional, while I had no idea, I’d been drinking it all my life!

The things we consume every day can have an effect on us over time. That applies not only to food and drink but also to entertainment, friends, and messages from social media. The apostle Paul cautioned, “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind” (Romans 12:2). While the Holy Spirit is making disciples of Jesus to be more like Him, the process takes a lifetime. Our habits can either help or hinder His work. It’s not always easy to recognize what we’re consuming, but we can ask Him, who’s rich in “wisdom and knowledge,” to show us (11:33). Wisdom and discernment help us “test and approve what God’s will is” (12:2) considering ourselves with “sober judgment” (v. 3).

Whatever He might be asking us to add to or remove from our daily lives is worth the price. All things are “from him and through him and for him” (11:36). He knows best.