Surrendering to His Grace: 6 UnGodly Habits to Forsake and Grow Closer to Our Lord

Welcome back everyone. We're so excited to publish our first official post! You guys can expect a post every Sunday, so be on the lookout for email notifications. Today's topic will focus on sins to cut off as you get closer to God. These unhealthy habits can stray you away from the path of God.

1) Secular Music

Secular music is any music that doesn’t worship God and praise Him.

That being said, not all secular music is harmful to your walk with God. You should stay away from songs that promote sins such as falling into sexual immorality, serving money, and doing drugs. Listening to secular music opens your ears to worldly things and it slows down your walk with God. Always pray for discernment so the Holy Spirit can help you see things for what they truly are. The music industry is full of creators who serve everything but God.

We know it can be hard to let go of our favorite worldly artists, but if you are truly committed to Christ, you have to sacrifice things.

1 Corinthians 10:31

"So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God"

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2) Idolatry

Idolatry has changed over the years. Originally, idolatry was simply worshipping false gods and objects that were meant to hold some spiritual power.

In addition to that, recent generations have made idolatry slightly more complex. The most common idols in this world are phones and money.

How do you know if there is an idol in your life? Anything that is using up the time you could be using to get to know God is an idol. For example, your phone is an idol if you are reaching for your phone first thing in the morning instead of at least praying to God and reading a chapter or so of your Bible.

Money has always been a popular idol and is even referenced in the Bible. You can’t have God in one hand and money in the other. Let go of your financial obsessions and put God in both your hands and hold Him up high.

Matthew 6:24

"No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both god and money"

Idolatry also occurs when you misplace your faith. Believing crystals can bring good things in your life and manifestation are just examples of this. These go against God when you go to these instead of the Lord. These shouldn’t be your sources of faith because the intention behind the use of crystals and manifestation is to make things to YOUR way rather than GOD’S way. How do you believe in God but you put your hopes in a piece of paper where you have written the same sentence 7 times? You could have prayed the same prayer 7 times to God and see what He’s capable of doing to your life. To believe in God is to know Him and to talk to Him and to worship only Him. Replace crystals with the Bible and replace manifestation with prayer. There is so much power in prayer.

Matthew 21:22

"If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer"

3) Holding Grudges/Not Forgiving

Forgiveness is not a choice; it is a command.

Forgiveness ≠ “as a result”

Forgiveness = “despite of”

We are called to forgive those who have wronged us. We are to not only forgive but also love our enemies.

Matthew 5:44-45

"But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven"

Why? Because God always forgives us for the sins we commit daily. If we choose to stay chained to the hurt, we are damaging our relationship with God AND we are damaging ourselves. When we let go, there is an increase in our energy, our time, and our mental capacity.

Only anger, revenge, sadness, and pain can come from unforgiveness. Love and healing come from God when we forgive.

A common misconception about forgiving is the idea that you have to reconnect with the person who wronged you or that you are overlooking, minimizing, and excusing the pain. Forgiving means to let go of your claim on either the person or the action. Choose to stop being bound to the evil.

Reconciliation takes two people, forgiving only takes one.

So, how do you forgive? Spend time in prayer. You can tell God, “Today I choose to forgive ___, for ______”. You will probably need to repeat this multiple times, maybe for the same person. It takes time and prayer to release your grasp on a grudge.

Keep in mind that forgiving does not change your past, but it does change your future.

4) Foul Language

In today’s world, using wretched language has become extremely popular. People use it as if they were normal words, not knowing how truly harmful they can be. They not only insult the people we use it against, but it drives us away from God. How can you use the same tongue that you pray with to speak evil onto others?

James 3:9-10

"With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be."

When you love someone, you could never imagine cursing them or wishing them any bad. Your heart is filled with love for them, and as it says in Luke 6:45, "For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of." So if what comes out of your mouth is what is filled in your heart, why should you speak bad language when your heart should be filled with Jesus and love? Take this as an example: road rage. You’re driving on the road and someone cuts you off. Your first instinct may be to curse them and become aggressive. Instead, take a quick prayer and bless them. Pray for them and any rough times they may be going through as well as yourself, and asking the Lord to fill you with patience and remove any negative thoughts. Foul language is not limited to just curse words, but also using God’s name in vain. Swearing on the Lord's name is a sin, and is one of the Ten Commandments.

Exodus 20:7

“You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name."

Instead, try replacing the Lord’s name with other words, such as “gosh”. This can be helpful in allowing you to begin to detach yourself from this widely use phrase, leading you to hopefully seize using it at all. Lastly, saying things such as “I swear to God”, “God honest truth”, or even promising something to someone is also a subject that Jesus has commanded us not to.

Matthew 5:36-37

"And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black. All you need to say is simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one."

5) Sexual Immorality

Sexual immorality is a very wide branch that includes many different varieties of sin. From looking at someone on the street in a sexual manner, to engaging in sex outside of marriage, viewing explicit content, and even self-gratification, self-control must be maintained. When you feel any temptation, ask yourself, “Is this glorifying God?” Sex is meant to unify and bind the souls of husband and wife. It was a gift from the Lord, but the devil twists it into something it's not to drive us away from Him.

1 Thessalonians 4:3-6

"It is God’s will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality; that each of you should learn to control your own body in a way that is holy and honorable, not in passionate lust like the pagans, who do not know God; and that in this matter no one should wrong or take advantage of a brother or sister."

Practicing self-control is vital in any instance where we are faced with temptation, especially when faced with thoughts of lust. The Bible emphasizes how important it is to demonstrate self-control, and even uses an analogy for it.

Proverbs 25:28

"Like a city whose walls are broken through is a person who lacks self-control."

Think of these temptations as a direct attack for the devil. You must not battle with it, rather flee from it. Seek God in these times and ask Him to provide you with strength and guidance. In times of struggle, always turn to our Lord and He will help you!

6) Gossiping

We have all heard the phrase “spill tea”, referring to wanting to know all the latest juicy gossip. But did you know God’s word actually opposes this? When you gossip about someone or something, you are taking a subject that typically should stay between two people, to a third party. Gossip usually involves speaking poorly about someone, and this violates every principle the Lord teaches us. And that is to love everyone around you.

James 4:11

"Brothers and sisters, do not slander one another. Anyone who speaks against a brother or sister or judges them speaks against the law and judges it. When you judge the law, you are not keeping it, but sitting in judgment on it."

Close friends must be able to confide in one another with the things they say. Someone may be finally opening up about things they are feeling, or serious issues they may be having, and then taking this information and gossiping about it completely obliterates the supposed trust that was there.

Proverbs 11:13

"A gossip betrays a confidence, but a trustworthy person keeps a secret."

After reading through these very common sins, we should remember that our Lord is very merciful and forgiving. We are all sinners, so please do not think that just because you continue to fall into the devil's temptations you will be rejected by God. Repent, ask the Lord for forgiveness and truly mean it. He will forgive you and He will never stop loving you. But, this does not mean that you can take advantage of His kindness and knowingly sin and just say, "He will forgive me anyways." Make an active effort to change your ways and ask the Lord to lead you on this journey, because it is a long and hard one. Thanks for reading!