“What shall we say [to all this]? Should we continue in sin and practice sin as a habit so that [God’s gift of] grace may increase and overflow?” Romans 6:1 AMP
It’s effortless for Christians to claim the blessings of God and skip over the conditions He has put in place to activate those blessings.
We all want to experience promotion, and recognition for our work, whether we meet our end of the deal or not. An employee who intentionally didn’t hit KPIs must get paid in full at the end of the month. A CEO who intentionally treats his team badly demands 100% respect from them and access to their lives. It’s the same as how we treat sin; we expect to experience the kingdom of God, while in our intentional sinful states.
It’s possible to fail and not meet expectations at work because you entered a new phase of your life that you didn’t adequately prepare for. It’s possible to fall into sin and be riddled with guilt despite your many declarations about being a child of God. It is in these scenarios that grace covers us.
I like the Amplified version of the focus scripture because it uses the word, “habit”. Habit is simply recurring behaviour that was once conscious but now subconscious. For an act to become a habit, it means it has been done so many times that it now runs on autopilot.
When you continuously practice a habit you hate and are riddled with guilt afterwards, you are moved to repentance. The result of this is you become more intentional about overcoming the habit so that you can achieve a different result the next time.
When you continuously practice a habit you are comfortable with, repentance never comes to mind. The result of this is the programmed outcome of that habit becomes the norm, every time.
When you perform below your usual ability and feel bad about it, you are moved to do better next time. You may also be surprised that your team leader, knowing that this isn’t your usual output, can choose to not withhold the benefits meant for you. That is grace.
But when mediocrity is the order of the day, feeling bad and striving to do better will not be in the picture. Thus, demanding the benefits of excellence then becomes robbery.
What do you think? Does grace cover up for mediocrity when done habitually? I’d love to hear your thoughts.
Today’s Task: Assess your work life to see if you are habitually mediocre or habitually excellent.
Answer This…
“If I could describe the kind of person I want to be in 3 words, those words would be…”
Answering this will reveal the values you desire and the gap you need to cover to get there.
Source: I get these growth prompts from my digital journal – GrowthDay.
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