The word "religion", especially in the form "religiosity", has fallen out of favor in many of the modern Protestant Christian camps much like notions about the Law. Yet, both have a place in the life of a believer since both both denote and connote notions about controlling one's behavior.
2 Timothy 3:1-7 (RSV) states:
But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of stress.
For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, inhuman, implacable, slanderers, profligates, fierce, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding the form of religion but denying the power of it. Avoid such people.
For among them are those who make their way into households and capture weak women, burdened with sins and swayed by various impulses, who will listen to anybody and can never arrive at a knowledge of the truth.
And Christ said in Matthew 5:17-20 (RSV):
Think not that I have come to abolish the law and the prophets; I have come not to abolish them but to fulfil them.
For truly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the law until all is accomplished.
Whoever then relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but he who does them and teaches them shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
Christ's brother James wrote in James 1:26-27 (KJV):
Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls.
But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.
For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass:
For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was.
But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.
If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man's religion is vain.
Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.
So, religion and the Law are worthwhile pursuits.
Upon reading more about traditional Hebrew teachings and child-rearing, it became apparent that many daily behavioral practices define who one is as a Hebrew.
Scripture contains many instructions on behavior which define true membership in the faiths which arose from the Pentateuch.
In fact, regularly reading scripture and religious practice can be a great means for behavioral modification.
The following is a regimen which was shared with someone who was hoping that they could stop smoking. In this life, the writer of this weblog has overcome at least one addiction using such an approach. Hopefully, this regimen or one like it blesses you!
Religious Prescription For Behavior Modification***************************************
Here is a prescription which I once gave a physician for smoking cessation. She has been smoking most of her life. She said that it worked; but, she would not keep up the regimen. So, she eventually started smoking again.
One chapter of Proverbs exists for each day of the month. Some people read a chapter of Proverbs each morning. It only takes between five and ten minutes.
Read a chapter each morning until you have been sober and free of nicotine for three months.
Each time that you feel like smoking, read a few of your favorite verses in Proverbs and sip on a little water. Be careful that you do not drink a bunch of tumblers of water each day. Just sip on some in a cup while you read and think about the verse. Pour the rest out when the smoking urge dissipates.
In short, reach for scripture every time the cigarettes start drawing you. You must want some things in life more than an addictive behavior.
The word “religion” connotes “a behavior pattern”. Replace scripture reading with smoking, and you will eventually feel much better.
Also, the greatest Christian sermon ever preached can be found in Matthew 5, 6, and 7. This would also be a great source of strength when you try ending your smoking habit again.
Also, think of the behaviors that you engage in before you smoke and while you smoke. Avoid these. This will help you reset your behavior pattern.
When you are ready for it, read Romans 1, 2, and 3 carefully every day for seven days. Consequences exist for not keeping one’s mind focused on “healthy things”. As a man thinketh, so is he. This thought is supported with the text found in Philippians 4:4-8.
Eventually, read the entire Bible when you develop a daily reading habit. It will change your life. It did mine. I read it all in my late twenties. I would not have survived graduate school without it. It is also available on compact disc.
If you want a recipe for other forms of sobriety regimens based on scripture, I have learned them. Some I have learned as a matter of self-survival.
I have found all that I needed within this statement, “In the Beginning, God created the Heaven and Earth…The Grace of The Lord Jesus be with God’s people. Amen.” Maybe you can find some contentment within scripture also.
Also, it is best that you work on one sobriety effort at a time.
Finally, keep a simple hymn flowing in your mind when you can; it will help keep you focused on things above.
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Stay Eternally Blessed
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