I have spent years trying different diets and supplements to lose weight and feel fit. Every diet I ever tried failed either due to the diet itself - not being the best combination of food - or because I lacked the discipline to keep going at it with enthusiasm.

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Diets are hard because they have rules associated with them. We don't like rules even though we know that they are helpful to keep us focused. Diets are also hard because they force us to develop habits. We generally think of habits as having a negative connotation. People typically don't say I have a habit of working out everyday - they say that they exercise daily. 

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I can't say with certainty that the reason diets don't work for most people is because of the perception of rules and habits but I can say that the writer of Hebrews freed me of my view of habits and ironically helped me solve my view of weight loss while improving my relationship with God. I'm not describing a new diet, I'm describing the importance of understanding the meaning of words.

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In Hebrews 5, the writer is very direct to his audience when he tells them they are spiritually dull and don't seem to listen. He explains that the basic things of God are things they should understand by now.  He compares his audience to infants who need milk and cannot eat solid food and then tells them that spiritually mature people get that way because they put God's principles into practice. A closer look at the original words used in the text reveal that the actual term the writer uses is the Greek word from which we derive habit.

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The idea is one of exercising a habit - the continued practice of something - in this case, God's principles. Sadly, even the church has succombed to avoiding the word habit when shared from the pulpit or in a study. Yet, it is the exact thing that we need to know and do. The bible is full of food and fruit references as analogies to spiritual life mainly because God's word is designed to nourish us and help us grow spiritually in the same way that physical food helps us develop physically.

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The mistake we make is that we treat our relationship with God as a diet - which for many has the idea of an end state once a goal is achieved - rather than a lifestyle - which is endless and comprises of habits we form that help us continuously develop. Do you see the difference? Take bible reading for example - ask 10 people in church if they read their bible daily and less than half will say they do. They don't think of it this way but they view it as a diet with rules instead of a necessary habit to enrich their life.

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We've all grown up hearing quips like "practice makes perfect" - there is lots of truth in that one. The scriptures selected for this session make it very plain that walking successfully with God stems from a life of obedience to His word which in turn produces the fruit in our lives that others can feed from. 

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If you've been on a plane then you are familiar with the safety message the cabin crew takes you through at the start of the flight. They tell you that in the event of a loss of oxygen, the oxygen masks will drop down and then they instruct you to put yours on first before helping someone else. It works the same way in our relationships - making sure we are first developing our own personal relationship with God will help us be a better husband or wife.