Get rid of this defunct habit.

Here we are, one full week into the 2024-25 school year.  How is the new routine going?

According to the Canadian Oxford English Dictionary, a routine is, “a regular course or procedure; an unvarying performance of certain acts.”  At what point is a “new routine” no longer “new,” but just a “routine?”  To continue to be both “new” and “routine” would be an oxymoron.

Usually, the “newness” just slips away and we don’t even realize it.  We just do what we do.  Whether it be the from-bed-to-work routine,  or the at-work routine, or in-the-garden routine, or the dishes routine, we rely on routines.  They can ensure a level of consistency, help reduce stress, and reduce the chance of a detail being overlooked.

The importance of routines became clear to me when I attended a “How to improve your curling” seminar.  The instructor taught us to use a routine every time we throw a rock.  If you get interrupted, stop what you are doing and start your routine all over again.  It is amazing how the simplicity of cycling through a series of set procedures can help improve overall performance.

There is a downside.  Routines can put us into an autopilot mode.  We do things without engaging our mind.  If we doing laundry or unloading the dishwasher, it really doesn’t matter.  If we having a conversation, it really does matter.  Perhaps we could call this routine dominarium, the danger of the routine itself supplanting or dominating the purpose for the routine (“dominarium” being a Latin term referring to being controlled by or subjected by something).

A real danger of routine dominarium is when we pray.  Sometimes, our motive for praying is so intense we can’t help but engage our minds.  This may be in times of angst, or perhaps in thanksgiving, or perhaps when we are confessing sin.  At other times, especially when praying before a meal, we can slide into the familiar routine, using the same words and phrases day-after-day, often for years.  This is not to say that we not feel gratitude in our hearts, but we don’t always do a good job at expressing that.  Dare I confess that all too often my mind can wander why repeating the same phrases over and over again? (I suspect I’m not the only one.)

Here is a simple solution I’ve used from time to time to help me clear the hurdle of routine dominarium.  I don’t pray.

Jesus warned us against praying with endless babble and the mindless repetition of words (Matthew 6:7).  Prayer is intended to be an intimate confession of our faith in God.  Praying should engage our mind to chose words that can express our gratitude that our Heavenly Father has provided for us, that He is the seat of all authority and all things are subject to Him, and that in our gratitude, we affirm our loyalty to Him.  Jesus used these words to teach His disciples these truths:  “our daily bread,” “Your Kingdom come,” “keep us from evil.”  These - and any other well-worn phrase we may use - are not incantations designed to move the hand of God.  They are our acknowledgment that God is God and we are not.

Since mindless praying does not honour God, why do it?  

Does that make you feel guilty?  It does me!  But I do find it a useful discipline to sometimes enjoy my meal without “saying grace.”  Stepping away from that routine is uncomfortable.  It feels awkward.  I then ask myself, “Why do I feel this way, this mixture of discomfort and guilt?  Is it because I didn’t do the routine?”  The prick in my heart forces my mind to engage.  It triggers an authentic pause from which a I can be genuinely thankful to God for His provision.

Here is my counsel for us today.  Go ahead and enjoy a meal without “saying grace.”  Feel the prick, ponder the prick, rectify the prick.  Maybe it is most helpful to whisper that authentic expression of gratitude AFTER . . . and then remember this moment BEFORE the next time we enjoy one of God’s blessings.

Did you know the Latin root for the word “routine” is defunctorius?  It isn’t difficult to see the connection with our English words “defunct” and “dysfunction”  It also sometimes translated as “dead.”  Routines, even necessary ones, can lead us into the dangerous territory of killing its intended meaning and purpose.

Light a new passion for praying and gratitude:  don’t “say grace” at your next meal and enjoy refreshing the routine.