Habits of Purpose Amidst a Global Pandemic
by Joel Miles
“How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives. What we do with this hour, and that one, is what we are doing.”
I first came across this quote by Annie Dillard in Tish Harrison Warren's book, Liturgy of the Ordinary. It is obviously true, but it is also one of the most profound things I have ever read. If we take it seriously, it could have dramatic effects on how each one of us lives our lives.
As the unprecedented events of the past week have continued to unfold, I believe this has never been more important to consider than it is right now. How are you living your life right now? How are you spending your time?
When I first read that quote over a year ago it almost immediately caused me to feel frustrated and anxious about the way I spend my time. I was watching television or Netflix far more than I should; my phone had become more of a distraction, taking me away from my family and friends; and I was sporadically spending time in the Word and prayer, rather than consistently practicing spiritual disciplines. I was thirsting to be shaped by the Lord, but was finding myself obstructed. That was what my life was becoming.
However, it is not just that that was what my life was becoming, it is also that those were the practices that I was allowing to shape my heart and my desires. Over the last number of years many authors have shown us that humans are “storied” beings that live out a vision of the “good life” driven by our desires. James K. A. Smith, in works like You Are What You Love, has perhaps been the most influential in this regard. What he has importantly shown is that this vision has been cultivated in us by our way of life. In other words, rather than someone merely telling us how to live, or us thinking our way into living rightly, we have embodied a certain story through yearly, monthly, weekly, daily, and even hourly practices - what Smith calls our “cultural liturgies.” We are not “lectured into” how to live or what to believe, we are shaped. We have been molded by our habits to indwell a certain vision of the good life.
In Dr. Dru Johnson’s wonderful book, Human Rites, he shows that this is exactly how God teaches us as well. For example, when God wants the next generation of Israelites to “know” what happened in the Exodus, He does not merely tell parents to verbally explain it to their children. Rather, He gives them habits and practices to embody. Thus, every year they live in a booth for seven days so that they might “know that [The Lord] made the people of Israel dwell in booths when [He] brought them out of the land of Egypt” (Lev. 23:43). The same could be said concerning the Passover. God gave them this embodied practice that they were to do habitually, so that “all the days of your life you may remember the day when you came out of the land of Egypt” (Deut. 16:3). Why not just tell the person? Because these practices do something to us. They shape us to know something on a deeper level than just the intellect. They enable us to indwell the true story of the world given to us in the Scriptures. This is why Baptism and the Lord’s Supper are so significant!
This is also why our daily and weekly habits are so significant - because they do something to us. I became more aware of these realities last year and sought to change my habits and introduce more intentional spiritual disciplines. But I was not just trying to develop some healthier activities - I was seeking to redirect my heart and my beliefs toward God. By God’s grace, I think I was able to do that. With the help of other books like Atomic Habits by James Clear, The Common Rule by Justin Whitmel Early, and The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry by John Mark Comer, I changed many of my practices and introduced more habits in order to live more intentionally for God and others.
But that was before. It was at a time when life was “normal.” It was at a time when I still spent most of my waking hours working outside the house. Everything has changed now. Now I believe I need to reassess these things once again.
There seem to be two prevailing reactions to the coronavirus pandemic. The first is fear, which is most evident through the clearing of grocery store shelves. The second is indifference, which we see most clearly through the packing out of beaches in Florida, and bars in Illinois (that is, until Pritzker shut them all down). The longer this goes on, the more the first reaction has grown.
The church, however, is called to neither of these responses. We need not be afraid. Christ has conquered the grave and is coming again. COVID-19 doesn’t change that at all! Or as Psalm 46:1-2 says, “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way…”
But Christ’s victory on the cross and over the grave is a call to anything but indifference. It is a commission to love the world as Christ has loved us. Indifference toward this virus puts not only ourselves at risk, but our neighbors as well. We must have a different reaction. We must indwell a different story. But how?
I believe one of the most important ways to do this right now, is by being intentional with how we spend our time. We need practices and habits that root us in Christ and what He has done. In other words, we can have a different outlook in this difficult time by seeking to practice spiritual disciplines and habits that shape our hearts toward Jesus’ salvation and God’s sovereign love. If the first thing I do when I wake up every day is pick up my phone and read an article on the spread of the coronavirus in Chicago, or the failure of the government to make tests available, I am going to have a hard time not letting fear drive me. If each time I get stressed about what is happening I turn on Netflix so I can “relax,” it is likely that indifference will begin to be my dominant position. But, if I can intentionally instill habits that root me in Christ’s gracious and victorious work then perhaps my overall response can display and declare to the world a different reality.
There is, of course, nothing wrong with reading articles about what is going on right now. I would encourage you to do so! Neither is there anything wrong with watching Netflix. But during this time I want to challenge myself, and you, to make sure that God’s Word, His people, His work in history, and His character are what is shaping how we respond. I want us to be driven in our actions by faith in God, love for our neighbors, and hope for Christ’s return. To do that I think we need to intentionally practice certain habits.
Because of this, I want to encourage all of us to seek to cultivate certain habits, or spiritual disciplines, that aim our hearts toward the work of Jesus. We are all being shaped right now. Let us intentionally seek to be shaped to live according to the true story of the world.
Below is a list of some suggestions that I am trying to instill in my life (I certainly do not practice them perfectly!). They are a mix of communal and personal habits. Many of these come from The Common Rule by Justin Whitmel Early (which also has a helpful website to explain each practice). You don’t need to do each one, and you may decide that these practices aren’t helpful for you. The main thing I am calling on all of us to do is to think intentionally and in a reflective way about our habits and rhythms of life in this new reality that we find ourselves in.
Personal
Scripture before phone/news every day
Prayer (preferably kneeling) three times a day
Fast for at least 2 meals in a row once a week
Limit TV/Shows/Movies to 7 hours a week
Turn your phone off for 1 hour a day
Take a Sabbath once a week
Communal
Participate in prayer gatherings with HTC|DT in the mornings (6:30am or 9:00am) and Wednesday evenings (8:00pm)
Participate in at least weekly Community Group gatherings
Commit to doing some of the personal habits together as a community group, and then encourage one another (for example, my community group is encouraging one another as we try to practice Scripture before phone, prayer three times a day, and fasting every three weeks together).
Daily conversation with someone(s) over the phone or online for at least an hour
Weekly hangout with friends online
This is not meant to be legalistic or to create a check-list that helps us feel more “spiritual.” The purpose is to be rooted in Christ. We want to indwell the true story of the world that has Jesus as our only hope. We believe that intentionally practicing some of these habits can be used by the Holy Spirit to aim our hearts in that direction.
Associate Pastor | HTC Downtown