"It is the inner life of the soul that we must aim to transform, and then behavior will naturally and easily follow. But not the reverse."
This quote from Dallas Willard sums up much of what his book, The Divine Conspiracy, is all about. (p. 144)
The Christian life isn't so much about changed behavior as it is about a changed heart.
It put me in mind of some teaching from James Clear about habit formation.
"Many people begin the process of changing their habits by focusing on what they want to achieve. This leads us to outcome-based habits. The alternative is to build identity-based habits. With this approach, we start by focusing on who we wish to become."
The key is to take our eyes off what it is we hope to achieve - in the case of the Christian, true righteousness - and focus instead on our identity: what type of person we desire to become.
This is the difference between striving to do good deeds on God's behalf ... and becoming like Christ Himself, loving God and loving neighbors.
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