Please don’t, out of old habit, slip back into being or doing what everyone tells you. Friends, stay where you were called to be. God is there. Hold the high ground with him at your side. 1 Cor 7:24 (The Message).

Have you ever noticed how easy it is to fall into a routine that you could follow in your sleep (and sometimes have)? We get up in the morning and sleepwalk our way to the bathroom or the baby’s room without even thinking. We stumble directly to the toilet or the crib and do our business and may not even realize that we’re not even at home! We may be on vacation.

How often have we “washed” our faces and forgot to use soap? How often have we driven to the school to pick up the kids and, when we get there, we realize that it’s Saturday and the kids aren’t in school! Habits can develop so quickly, and the sad thing is that we don’t even realize we’ve developed them until something hits us in the face and we realize what we’re doing.

Corinth was a big town with about any lifestyle a person could want—or not want. There were people with various addictions—and not just to drugs or alcohol. People could find reading materials of all genres and companions for any activity the imagination could conjure up.

The problem was that, when Corinthians decided to join the believers of Jesus Christ, they found that their lifestyles didn’t automatically change. Many people believe that, once they confess Jesus as their Lord and Savior, their lives will automatically change instantly and they will lead a life of plenty, loving their neighbors and spreading the word of God. There may be some people to whom this happens, but the vast majority of us don’t find this to be true.

The muscle memory isn’t involved in the decision to worship Christ so, when we pass that bar at the end of the street, our feet automatically take us inside and we have to pay attention so that our mouth doesn’t order more beer than we should have. Sometimes we see a good-looking person and our eyelashes automatically lower. We find ourselves flirting in ways we really shouldn’t.

One thing that believing and trusting in Jesus can give us, if we accept the gift, is an awareness of what’s going on. When we find ourselves in places that we know we shouldn’t be, an awareness of where we are can come to us—before we go too far—and we can bow out and move on down the road. Jesus doesn’t ask us to give up everything, he just doesn’t want us to think anything is more important to us than he is. When we decide the type of person we want to become, he is right there to help us move in that direction. Just realize that it might take some time!

Becky Gillette is a former teacher, newspaper reporter, and preacher who seeks to take an original approach to life’s lessons. She has recently published her first book, Jessie’s Corner: Something To Think About, which is now available for purchase. Based on several lesser-known scriptures from the Bible, this is a collection of articles which she wrote for a weekly newspaper.