When I was in high school, I had a friend who never let me finish a sentence. Now my mother had taught me not to interrupt, and it took me years to internalize that lesson. And by high school, I had learned that lesson well. So when Lynn interrupted me, I stopped talking and let her say what she wanted. Once she was through, I continued, but the moment I started talking again, it reminded her of something else she wanted to say and she interrupted me again. That went on day after day after day, and I got tired of it. I figured that the only way I was going to be heard was to interrupt her, so I did. Of course, the minute I interrupted her, she interrupted me right back, so I interrupted her again. And so she interrupted me again. And so we went back and forth interrupting one another; never finishing a sentence; never listening to each other.
Lynn didn’t change or even notice that I was constantly interrupting her because that was always how she carried on a conversation. But I changed. In a very short time, I went from patiently waiting my turn to constantly interrupting others. Not just Lynn. I interrupted everyone I talked to. It had taken me years to develop the good habit of allowing others the courtesy of finishing their sentence or thought, and in a few short weeks, I replaced it with a very rude habit. To make matters worse, the polite Marjie that I used to be was completely forgotten by my family members. I never heard things like, “Marj, what happened to you? You never used to interrupt like this.” Instead, this is what I heard. “Be quiet, so Marj can finish interrupting.”
It’s incredibly difficult to develop and maintain good habits. They’re so easily broken. Yet, it’s easier to maintain a good habit than to break a bad habit. As we launch into 2015, let’s work hard to develop and maintain good, godly habits…
- Faithful church attendance
- Daily devotions
- Regular Bible study
- Consistent prayer time
- Healthy eating habits
Once you’ve tossed a good habit by the wayside, such as faithful church attendance, it’s hard to re-establish it. So hang onto those good habits. Don’t let anyone corrupt your morals or cripple your integrity or shatter your faith or hinder your spiritual growth. If you do, those around you will see you for what you are; not what you were. They won’t remember the good you did; only the bad you’re doing.
But if you’ve already sacrificed some good habits and developed some bad ones, you may have to work to re-establish those good habits. But you will be glad that you did. As for me, it took quite a few years to redevelop the discipline of not constantly interrupting. Sometimes I still interrupt without thinking. I suspect it will be a life-long challenge for me, as is the development of most good habits.