Humans are creatures of habit. As for myself, every morning I follow the same routine in preparing to go to work. Then, I drive the same route to get to work, and once I arrive I go through a sequence of hanging my coat, putting my lunch in the refrigerator and turning on my computer before getting a glass of water. The pattern of behavior that I’ve built over the years I do without much thought. It is as if I’ve taught myself how to behave through the routines that I’ve established. We all have patterns and routines; sets of habitual behaviors that we do almost without thinking. Some of them are good, and some are not. Obedience to God can also become a pattern; a pattern that we can teach ourselves in an effort to daily reflect our allegiance to the Lord. Paul says in Romans, chapter 6, verse 17:
“But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you have come to obey from your heart the pattern of teaching that has now claimed your allegiance.”
Obedience is a pattern of behavior based on a pattern of teaching. Later, Paul reminds us the we are no longer slaves to sin, but slaves to righteousness. Are you teaching yourself to follow a pattern of slavey to righteousness? The term “slavey” may sound unsettling to modern-day Americans, but it was a common and accepted practice in Bible times. To us, slavery connotes an unwilling, or forced, servitude. But in this context, I believe it is more of a willing dedication; a heartfelt submission; a love for the one we serve. So, if we are no longer willingly dedicated to sin, but have now submitted ourselves to righteousness, and continue to follow that pattern on a daily basis, there should come a time when our walk becomes a pattern or even a routine. We may begin to daily wake up with Christ on our minds, pray before we get out of bed, look for opportunities to serve others and read our Bible before we settle in for the night all without thinking. That is the kind of pattern I hope we all adopt.
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What patterns have you formed in life? Some may be good, others neutral, and yet others evil. It should be our desire, as followers of Christ, to pattern our lives after him. I encourage you to read the gospels, the first four books of the New Testament, to see how Jesus lived and adopt his patterns and routines to your life. We should all take stock of our lives, examining our daily walk, and determining whether what we do, and how we behave without thinking, should be adjusted or maintained. Once we integrate a pattern of righteousness, we may be able to attest to the words Paul used when addressing the Romans; that we have come to obey from our heart the pattern of teaching that has now claimed our allegiance.
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