My wife has somehow programmed me to do something I’m against doing.

I just realized I will now do this even when I’m on my own. Have you ever found yourself in those shoes?

You see, for years my wife, Lily, has been washing out plastic ziplock bags and reusing them. It’s something that I just don’t agree with and I’ve told her repeatedly.

I’ve even blogged about it (you can read it here).

When we clean up after a meal there is usually a few things that don’t make the dishwasher, so they get washed by hand.

Lily is the washer and I dry what’s on the rack … but I don’t like drying those plastic bags!

My feeling is they’re good for recycling material; I shouldn’t have to waste my time with them. We should just pull out a new bag from the box when we need one.

But for years she’s been washing them and I’ve been drying them.

Last week when I was on my own at our cottage on my planning/study week, I had to wash the dishes on my own.

I let them pile up over the day and cleaned them up in the evening … or sometimes the next day.

Hey, I got to use most of the dishes in the cupboard instead of the same two or three at the top of the pile. I like the idea of giving all the dishes and cutlery a chance to be used equally.

One day in the pile of dishes I had used, there was a plastic bag I had stored some food in. The plastic bag was in the sink and I didn’t think anything of it. But when I went to do the dishes I found myself washing out that plastic bag.

Without thinking I gave it a good soak, stuck the dishcloth in the bag and swirled it around. I rinsed the soap off it and put it on the drying rack.

When all the dishes were washed, I grabbed the towel and started drying them.

I’ve done this a million times. But when I picked up that wet, clingy ziplock bag, I at once realized what I’ve done …

I’ve become like my wife! I’m now washing out plastic bags to be reused again!

Well, I kicked with myself for even putting that used, dirty plastic bag in the sink and not in the trash.

But there I was holding a towel in one hand and a wet, limp plastic bag in the other.

I stared at it for a moment or two; I considered what my next actions were going to be.

I looked around (nobody was there), and I tossed that plastic ziplock bag in the garbage can.

I had to do it so that I could break the programming Lily has attempted to download into my brain.

Here’s the thing: There are a lot of things we do without thinking – unconscious actions that don’t need to be thought about or decided upon. We just do them. It’s not always a bad thing. If you will consistently involve God in your decisions, actions, speech and thought, you will get to the place where you will automatically involve Him and do what He wants. You will do it because you’re accustomed to it; it will become your natural conduct.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What do you need to program into your life? Leave your comments below.