Default Behavior

Have you ever noticed yourself reacting a certain way to certain stimuli? Like something habitual?

For example:
-If a person cuts you off on the road, you then tailgate them to show your displeasure.
-If someone confronts you about an issue, or challenges your thoughts, you get defensive instead of taking stock and really listening.
-If someone says something ugly to you, you let the fire in your belly form your response to them.
-Your way of medicating after bad news is shopping. Or food. Or sex. Every single time.
-If someone 'slaps' you, you respond in kind, and the whole thing turns into a Three Stooges slap fest.
-If your family (or someone at work) neglects their chores and you clean up after then AGAIN, you make sure everyone knows it by being a noisy martyr.

We all have default behaviors. We all have things we do that are habitual responses to any stimuli. If we think about it, we probably don't even know when this became our default. But at some point it was programmed into us.

The definition of default is very interesting!

Default:
A preselected option adopted by a computer program or other mechanism when no alternative is specified by the user or programmer.
Something that is usual or standard.

All the examples I listed are obviously wrong responses. But how often are they what we do without even thinking about it?

See, we can get into a habit or pattern of wrong behavior because we aren't inputting anything else. Our 'preselected response' is according to the flesh. But it is still a choice!

If we are in Christ, we ought to be different than the usual or standard. We ought to let the Word of God reprogram us so we have good input guiding our responses instead of what is usual (our flesh).

Do you need to take time to reprogram yourself? To make better choices? The good news is, if you're alive it isn't too late!!

Lord help me have godly responses to everything that comes my way. Help me reprogram myself according to Your Word!

2 Cor. 5:17
Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

Psalm 51:10-13
(10) Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.
(11) Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me.
(12) Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit.
(13) Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee.

Ephesians 4:20-24
(20) But ye have not so learned Christ;
(21) If so be that ye have heard him, and have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus:
(22) That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts;
(23) And be renewed in the spirit of your mind;
(24) And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.