Jer 13:23: Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots? then may you also do good, that are accustomed to do evil.

Habits are the elements of character. The deeds we do ripen into habits, and these form the warp and woof of character. The single act does not make character. There is sometimes a protest in the soul against the act, and a purpose to never repeat it. The first smoke may make the youth sick, but it does not characterize him as a smoker. The first drink may make the head dizzy, but it does not entitle the drinker to be called a drunkard. It is the repetition of acts that forms habits; and the habits of a man give him h is character. It’s a curious thing that the word “habit” means a garment that you can throw off when you please, and also a way of living that may be so bound up with you that you cannot change it. It seems as if it were meant in this twofold sense to convey the great truth that the sin which first you lay aside with ease like a loose coat may by frequent indulgence take a firm hold on you as to become part of your very life–as much part of yourself as the spots on the leopards skin–and you may find it impossible to wrench yourself free from it. The wise man says in the book of Proverbs “Though thou should bray a fool in a mortar among wheat with a pestle, yet will not his foolishness depart from him. ”