How to Conquer Bad Habits

This book is like a perfect storm for me. Within the past few years, I began my birding hobby—first with binoculars and now with a camera—so I am fascinated by anything related to our feathered friends. I’ve also been battling more my own anger and its debilitating effects on my emotions and perspective. Add to these an interesting connection to The Pineapple Story, and I knew that this would be the book for me.

Now, for this review, I’m not going to get into the IBLP sex scandal (though I would be interested to know how people writing about conquering bad habits could do so, all the while messing around with affairs and child abuse). While the irony is palpable, I know far too little about the situation to comment. I’ll stick with what I know, and that’s my opinion of the book.

I read this book little by little to my kids, though it’s definitely not a kids’ book. We enjoyed researching the facts about eagle flight, feathers, and hunting abilities in “Part One: The Ways of the Eagle.” And of course we especially enjoyed the story itself in “Part Two: The Warnings of the Eagle.” This story with its beautifully painted illustrations was a patient delivery of a scientifically valid fable. The “Ten Aspects of Danger” section was a bit over my kids’ heads, so we stopped here, but of course I was able to simplify the principles for their young minds and we all learned some things together.

“Part Three: The Wonder of the Eagle in the Air” gets into the Scriptural realities of how followers of Christ can overcome sinful habits. In essence, the book teaches that it’s not a matter of praying for victory over sin, because that puts responsibility for my habits into God’s hands—a misinterpretation of Isaiah 40:31. Instead it’s a matter of recognizing that the victory over my sin has already been won, and I need to enter into that victory, which means to enter into the Life which Christ has won for me. How to enter that victory is what Part Three is all about, and it’s worth its weight in gold. Passages designed for meditation, adjustments required in my perspective, rules for effective accountability—-all these and more are how this book proves its effectiveness, and I encourage anyone who desires biblical victory over their bad habits to ignore the bathwater of IBLP and to coddle this precious baby.

“Waiting on the Lord” (according to this book) means memorizing and quoting God’s passages about victory over sin, and this falls directly in line with the doctrine of the sufficiency of God’s Word. There’s no need for me to pray, “Holy Spirit, come down on me!” when He’s already here in my heart, and there’s no reason for me to “bide my time as I wait for the Lord.” Christ has already won the victory. God is already here. I need to stop “waiting” in the time sense and start “waiting” in the dependence sense. Victory awaits.

©2018 E.T.