Fear is motivating; to do a habit and not do a habit.
1 John 4:18b states, "For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love."
Think about your motivation to not do a certain habit. Maybe fear of disappointing your spouse, best friend, mentor, God? Fear might help with sobriety for a time but sobriety does not necessarily lead to fearing less.
Now think about your motivation to do a certain habit. If you struggle with the motivation of fear then your justification for doing your habit may be connected to fear. "If I do [habit] then God will forgive me." This is normally said, verbally or thoughtfully, after a fear thought; God will punish me; my spouse will yell at me; my family will disown me. For example, the fear of "my family will disown me" can lead to the justification for saying, "If I do [habit] then God will forgive me."
Sometimes how you fight a habit might also be how you give into a habit. If you primarily fight a habit with fear then you will primarily give into a habit with fear.
Questions to consider:
What would it be like to experience temptation without fear?
How does fear personally motivate you towards and/or away from a habit?
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