Hosea 8:7 For they have sown the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind: it has no stalk; the bud shall yield no meal: if so be it yield… Notice the way in which the acts of daily life influence destiny. I. WE ARE CONTINUALLY FORMING HABITS. II. THE TENDENCY OF HABITS ONCE FORMED IS TO INCREASE IN STRENGTH. "Wind — whirlwind." III. HABITS INCREASE IN THE DIRECTION OF ORIGINAL TENDENCY. Same in kind, though vastly different in intensity and force. IV. THE TENDENCY OF HABITS IS TO INCREASE IN STRENGTH TILL THEY PASS BEYOND CONTROL. The whirlwind desolates the land and strews the sea with wrecks. Habit is something like appetite: we are led by it, just as a hungry man makes his way towards home. It cannot be explained how it is that actions become easier by being repeated, but that it is so everybody must admit. If we do anything a certain number of times, the doing has an effect upon us, and that effect we call "habit." We should therefore be very careful what we accustom ourselves to do, lest we should acquire the appetite or habit of doing things that are hurtful and wrong. Habit is the result of repeated acts, and it is wonderful how soon a little child acquires a habit. The doing of a thing once or twice is sufficient to lead the child to do it again — "All habits gather, by unseen degrees, As brooks make rivers, rivers run to seas." (A. Hampden Lee.) Parallel Verses KJV: For they have sown the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind: it hath no stalk: the bud shall yield no meal: if so be it yield, the strangers shall swallow it up. |
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