BIBLICAL BEHAVIOR MODIFICATION

BIBLICAL BEHAVIOR MODIFICATION 

By Steve Beyer - www.BiblicalMind.com

Psalm 131 begins "Lord, my heart is not proud; my eyes are not haughty. I don't concern myself with matters too great or too awesome for me to grasp." The Psalm was written by King David and it is only three verses long.
He continues, "Surely, I have behaved and quieted myself, as a child that is weaned of his mother: my soul is even as a weaned child." The Hebrew language paints a picture of how a believer behaves and quiets himself. The word means to level out or equalize. It implies an adjustment that works as a counterbalance and its use in this context is evidence God has not abandoned us to try to maintain a behavior about which we know nothing.
In the subtle beauty of the language, this passage reveals the Power at work in our hearts that compels us to make a conscious choice to shift our focus off ourselves and on to God. The word the Hebrew writers used as "behave" is translated "compare" in Proverbs 3:15 when wisdom is described. "All the things we can desire are not to be compared to her (wisdom)." Behaving encompasses the act of comparison! The lightning computations of our mind can balance our behavior by comparing it to a blueprint that God makes available to us moment by moment through His indwelling Spirit.
Another picture is drawn for us in Isaiah 28:25 using the Hebrew word for "behaved." A man plowing his field has made that field "plain" and ready for sowing by leveling it. That "plain" level field represents every believer whose heart is a place where God can plant and then gather the fruits of a surrendered heart.
In addition to behaving himself, the psalmist "quieted" himself. The word quieted holds another key to the mindset of the believer. "Quieted" is translated "rest" in Psalm 37:7. "Rest in the Lord and wait patiently for him." It is also translated as "wait" in Psalm 62:5. "My soul, wait thou only upon God; for my expectation is from Him."
As a child that is weaned, the believer has ripened into a mature person who makes a willful choice to measure and adjust his behavior according to the benchmark set by the Holy Spirit who dwells within. Now that's behavior modification!