"Every action you take is a vote for the type of person you wish to become. No single instance will transform your beliefs, but as the votes build up, so does the evidence of your new identity. This is one reason why meaningful change does not require radical change. Small habits can make a meaningful difference by providing evidence of a new identity. And if a change is meaningful, it actually is big. That's the paradox of making small improvements." (p.38)
This feels true. And if this IS true, consider the implications in respect to spiritual disciplines.
If you call yourself a Christian and yet you do not pray or read your Bible or fast or tithe or attend worship, it is not just your outer witness that suffers. The inner voice is bound to make the accusation: "Hypocrite!"
On the flip side, once you begin to establish a habit of prayer, you are casting a vote for becoming "a prayer warrior".
When you start to read your Bible on a regular basis, you are becoming "a student of the Bible".
And this is why the spiritual disciplines matter more than we would like to admit: It's very difficult to convince yourself that you are a serious Christian if your actions provide no evidence to that effect.
But when they DO provide evidence that you are indeed a Child of God?
Watch out, world!
"Ultimately, your habits matter because they help you become the type of person you wish to be. They are the channel through which you develop your deepest beliefs about yourself. Quite literally, you become your habits." (p.41)
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