Speaker: Sis. Techie Rodriguez, Elder, The Lord's Flock Catholic Charismatic Community

" The Habits of Jesus Christ - Part 1 "

Introduction: A habit is a thing done often; it is a practice, a custom, a manner of living. It is also a tendency to behave in a certain way. It is usually difficult to break after the person has been accustomed to it for a long time.

Habits are either good or bad. Worshipping God, praying, and reading the Bible regularly are good habits. Talking too loud, gossiping, smoking, and drinking too much are bad habits.

The Bad Habit of Complaining

Complaining is one of the bad habits of the Israelites during the time of Moses. They complained to Moses why they were brought out of Egypt to the desert (Exodus 14:11-12). They grumbled against Moses and Aaron (Exodus 16:2-3, 17:3). Instead of thanking the Lord for releasing them from slavery in Egypt , they kept on complaining and grumbling.

We are sometimes like the Israelites in Moses' time with the bad habit of complaining. Some of us cannot sleep – worrying about what we need and complaining to God. Some of us, after receiving financial blessings, are still dissatisfied and complaining, instead of being contented and thankful to God.

As renewed Christians, we should have already done away with the bad habits of complaining, grumbling, cursing and disobedience of God's commandments. Some of us still have these bad habits. Some of us can hardly obey simple instructions in our community.

Breaking Our Bad Habits

How do we break our bad habits ? How do we prune them down?

We can remove the habit of complaining by learning to praise and to thank the Lord always. Let us appreciate all the good things He has done for us. God provides everything we need. Let us develop the habit of praising and thanking the Lord in times of needs and blessings.

We can break the habits of talking too much and impatience in listening by learning to listen patiently. Let us respect the person talking to us and understand him well by listening to him attentively. Especially when we are counseling, there is no room for these unpleasant habits. Listening patiently is the first rule in counseling.

We should be conscious of our bad habits – some run in our family. We should make deliberate efforts to break these harmful habits. We should not be hurt if others call our attention to our distressing habits. We should be humble and grateful to be corrected by others. Overcoming our bad habits is necessary for us to be used by God. Unless we cut these habits, we are hindering the work of God.

The Command of Giving

“Give and gifts will be given to you; a good measure, packed together, shaken down, and overflowing, will be poured into your lap. For the measure with which you measure will in return be measured out to you.” (Luke 6:38). For us to give is a command from God. We should give generously – not necessarily money. We can give our time, our talent, our treasure, ourselves; and we shall receive something back in the same measure or degree of generosity as when we give. Often, as God is very generous, He returns what we give many folds over.

Jesus' Habit of Giving

Our Lord, Jesus Christ, is a giver all the time. He has the habit of giving.

• Jesus gives rest. “Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28).
• Jesus gives his word [teachings]. “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me.” (Matthew 11:29).
• Jesus gives what we ask. “Ask and it will be given to you, seek and you will find, knock and the door will be opened to you.” (Matthew 7:7).
• Jesus gives healings and miracles. The New Testament is filled with accounts of the signs and wonders of Jesus.

God – A Generous Giver

God, the Father, is a very generous giver.

• God gives his answers to our prayers. “Before they call, I will answer; while they are yet speaking, I will hearken to them.” (Isaiah 65:24). Even before we ask, the Lord has already given us his answer.
• God is a provider. “My God will fully supply whatever you need, in accord with his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:19).
• God gives us everything. “He who did not spare his own Son but handed him over for us all, how will he not also give us everything else along with him?” (Romans 8:32).

God is truly generous. “ For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal live.” (John 3:16).

Let Us Imitate Jesus' Habit of Giving

Giving is not in-born nor instinctive. It is a habit that we can learn and imitate. Let us learn faithfully from the habits of our Lord, Jesus.

Like Jesus, let us have the habit of giving . Let us be generous, not stingy. Let us ask what we can give instead of what we can get. “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” (Acts 20:35).

When we joined our Community, did we ask about the benefits we could get or did we enter to offer what we can give and do to glorify God? Let us change our usual habit of asking what we can get to asking what we can give. Let us imitate Jesus with his habit of giving.

We can also follow the example of Zacchaeus, the tax collector, who gave half of his possessions to the poor. (Luke 19:1-10). After meeting Jesus, Zacchaeus who was a wealthy man changed from “getting” to “giving”. He was saved by his change of heart.

As Jesus is generous, his Father is generous, we should also be generous givers!

When we give, we should be cheerful! “God loves a cheerful giver.” (2 Corinthians 9:7). We should develop the habit of cheerful giving – not because of any expectation of rewards nor because of fear of punishment for disobedience of a command, but because we truly love God!

The Agape Love of God

God's love is agape [from the Greek word “agapao” which means generous]. It is divine love that does not expect anything in return. God's generosity does not demand repayment from us. He does not need any payment from us. He already owns everything. “Mine is the silver and mine the gold.” (Haggai 2:8).

God's agape love is so great that He even gave to us his only Son, Jesus. (John 3:16). Jesus, himself, is also a great giver; He is full of grace and truth. (John 1:14). He did his work without a price tag. He was moved with the sufficiency of God to meet the spiritual needs of humanity. He gave his own self and his own life, without expecting any profit for himself.

How about ourselves? When we serve in our Community, do we expect something in return? Do we seek the approval of others? Or, do we serve because we love God? Do we serve because of the joy we can give to others? Is our love, the agape kind, or merely human love?

The Secret of Giving

The Macedonians were very generous in giving. “We want you to know brothers of the grace of God that has been given to the churches of Macedonia , for in a severe test of affliction, the abundance of their joy and their profound poverty overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part.” (2 Corinthians 8:1-2).

What is the secret of giving? The Macedonians “gave themselves first to the Lord and to us through the will of God.” (2 Corinthians 8:5).

When we give ourselves to God (the secret) and when we are full of grace like Jesus, then we give regardless of our situation in life.

Mary of Bethany broke an alabaster jar of perfumed oil and poured it on the head of Jesus. (Mark 14:3). Like Mary, can we not give similar extravagance to our Lord who gave his life for our redemption?

When we give our time to God, can we not give him the best – instead of the remnants? Let us make God our first priority and give him our best time and the best of everything we have!

Even when we are under testings by God, let us be ready to give ourselves to God. When we give with God's grace, let us give our service without complaining. Let us give without expecting anything in return; God will take care of our needs. Let us also give our time to pray for the needs of others, not our own needs; God already knows our needs. Let us give ourselves to God and to others. Freely, we give; freely, we shall receive. God returns what we give many folds over.