POWERLINE #10

d: "when the storms of life toss you around, what have you got to hold onto?"
s: grab onto the powerline. hi, i'm shereen holier.
d: and i'm dave clark
s: wait a minute, wait a minute, stop the jingle. we always start every show the same way.
d: well, i guess it's just a habit.
s: well, we need to talk about habits on today's show.	
d: well, but shereen we've always done it this way.
s: that's the point dave, some habits need a second look.
d: well what we're out it, why don't we deal with temptation too.
s: temptation?
d: the overwhelming temptation that comes in continuing a habit.
s: oh boy
d: speaking of bad habits you put absolutely too much sugar in my tea every week shereen, yuck.
d: rick kua sings about temptation powerfully now "young boy, young girl."
d: temptation and 
s: habit. the topic of today's show and that's rick kua with "young boy, young girl."
d: getting set free of undiserable habits, no doubt.
s: so, why do you do the things you do?
d: sounds like the title of a popular song a while back.
s: it asks an interesting question: why do you do the things you do? think about your own routine, just getting up in the morning, what is the first thing you do?
d: now we don't mean going to the loo. 
s: now that's a practical necessity.
d: and an understandable habit.
s: but what about other events during the course of the day?
d: i know a guy who has a particular habit when dressing each morning. he puts on a sock and a shoe, then a sock and a shoe in that order. it's hilarious to me, no good reason, he just does it that way. i suppose it's a harmless habit.
s: admit it or not but people are creatures of habit. and often we don't really know why we do the things we do.
d: take the woman for example who used to trim 2 inches of meat off her brisket everytime she prepared a roast for the oven. she did it regularly for many years. one day her daughter asked her about this curious habit as it seemed most wasteful. the pan was more than big enough.
s: the woman thought about the question for a minute and then told her daughter "i dunno, but i learned from your grandmother, she always did it this way." later when the grandmother arrived for the meal, the grand daughter asked her the same question. gran, why do you always trim the roast. "oh, it's quite simple" gran said, "i had to trim it so it would fit into my pan." back then, they didnt make pans as large as you can buy them today.
d: as you can imagine, the girl's mom now felt quite foolish. she had never questioned gran's technique. without stopping to think why, mom simply accepted everything gran did until gran's habits became her own. another harmless habit you say? well, perhaps but this story outta cause us to think about habits in our own lives 
s: sure, some habits can be quite useful, like looking both ways before crossing the street, taking the time to read the bible daily.
d: habit is a gracious, god given capacity. imagine if you actually had to think about those mundane essential things you do everyday, like breathing. yet habit can also be the greatest enemy of progress and excellence. 
s: are you becoming all you can be or is that niggling little habit stunting your growth and making you it's slave.
d: speaking of habits, we've got one here at powerline. it's where we give you the address to write if you need help with a bad habit. or advice on any subject.
s: the powerline problem panel is ready to hear from you. listen up for the address at the end of the show. 
s: a great song about unhealthy habits. "let go" that's pray for rain.
d: and you're on the powerline with shereen and dave. i have on my desk a plastic ruler, about 30 centimeters long, it's sturdy and functional, it gets the job done.  it is the habit of rulers to be acurate or so i thought. i trusted mine to be acurate but it wasn't. the factory made it about 5 milimeters to long. so naturally, it throws all of my measurments off by the same small, but signifacant amount. 
s: it makes you think what if all rulers were off just a little bit.  how wrong can one be until one is useless.
d: a ruler must be acurate because it is a standard and standards don't change. 
s: in our christian life we measure and we are measured. what is your standard?
d: if you measure yourself by others you will soon discover that that is a mistake. people will always dissapoint you because people are imperfect.
s: for the christian there can be no other standard than the life of Jesus Christ. so if you're dissapointed or disiluioned in life, check the standard you're living by.
d: i know i need another ruler.
s: i'll get you one.  
d: geoff moore, "the vow."
s: habits and temptation, our focus on today's show.
d: that may seem like a strange combination of themes to talk about but actually one leads to another.
s: if a person is in the habit of doing what's right, temptation to do what's wrong doesn't come as easily.
d: take haley for example. a 14 yr old high school student. the school term was ending and a bunch of her friends wanted to enjoy a last fling before the holiday break up. 
s: they decided to meet at a shopping mall, eat a snack supper and watch a movie. before arriving they agreed that the movie to be watched was one suitable for all ages. in fact, it was the only one being screened among six that didn't have an age restriction. 
d: haley's mom and dad thought it would be a good plan so they gave haley her allowance, dropped her and her friends off at the mall, and wished them a good time.
s: later on that night, when haley arrived home, there was no trace of the smiling face she had left with earlier. moist eyes and a frown replaced it. her dad invited her to sit down on the bed and talk things out. hesitantly, haley sat down. what she shared during the few moments broke her dad's heart and made him angry. but at the same time, it made him exceedingly proud. 
d: as haley explained, all went well until her group of friends gathered to buy movie tickets. someone suggested that they scrap the original plan and instead see a movie with an adult rated restriction. the mood of the group quickly swung around in favour of that change. all that is, except for haley. she knew now that the movie selected was not one that her parents had appoved of. quitely, she tried to find at least one friend from the bunch that would stick with the original plan. 
s: almost immediately, her friends began to taunt and tease her. "oh, c'mon" one said "dont be stupid, come with us, your parents will never know." it's true, her parents were likely never to know. after all, it's just a movie, right?
d: now the lure of temptation was strong, not to mention the peer pressure. the ticket queue was moving now, haley's heart was is her throat.
s: inside the theatre, haley found herself a seat. after a while, an old man came in and sat down beside her. "why are you sitting here all by yourself?" he said. haley couldn't answer and she didn't really want to sit next to that man. recalling the events she said "you know dad that movie was really funny but somehow i just coudn't laugh." and at that point, as they sat together on the bed, her dad began to cry. visualizing the scene overwhelmed him. here is a fourteen year old girl who paid a very high price for doing what was right. abandoned by her friends in the midst of incredible peer pressure, haley chose to obey her parents.
d: you see a few years earlier, haley made the decision to follow jesus christ. she knew the importance jesus placed on doing the right thing. and he promised her then as he promises all of us now that we can be empowered to make right choices in and even when others don't or won't understand. haley took possesion of that power one night not long ago and it's made all the difference between her living a life of mediocrity and one filled with meaning and purpose. shereen, i tell this story with a lump in my throat and a grateful heart because haley is my daughter.
s: "he works," the testimony of dc talk on the powerline.
d: coming next, youth react to the temptation of an illegal bribe. how would you respond? first, the newsboys and "dear shane."
s: i'm shereen holier, the issue is temptation. a word that has two meanings actually, such as any attempt to entice into evil. or temptation can be a testing which aims at our spritual good. either way dave clark is over at the high school right now tempting students with an incredible offer.  let's see how they respond.
d: let's say you work for a large company and you're simply one of hundreds of employees. someone comes by and says they will give you a hundred thousand rand if you simply photocopy a piece of paper in a file that you have access to. how do you respond?
boy 1: i don't think i'd do it because that's no way to do things in life. you must work for yourself. and it's important to me to know that i've earned my own money, in my own way and i've worked for it.
boy 2: i'd do it. i would just take it cause i need the bucks, i mean my paycheck is not good and i need the money so i'd take it.
girl 1: i think the money would be tempting but if you got caught or found out, which in the end everybody always does, you know, you would have bad consequences cause obviously you'd be fired but you wouldn't have any references for any more jobs cause you went against the company policy so you probably wouldn't be able to get another job. 
girl 2: no, i wouldn't do it because i've lost a job so i know what it feels like. your confidence is absolutely shot. you know what you've done but i'd rather have respect of my fellow people that i work with than do something that i shouldn't and get fired and end up with nothing at all.
s: the consequences of temptation. america's version of robbin island, "alcatraz," and that's al denson.