Lycurgus, the renowned ruler and lawgiver of Sparta, had taken two puppies from the same litter and raised them in different fashions. One of them was to be reared in the kitchen, while the other was trained in hunting.

Some time later, when the puppies were full grown dogs, Lycurgus gathered his people together. He brought the two dogs into the forum and had them fed. Some fish bones were tossed to the floor and at the same time, a hare was set loose. The kitchen dog ignored the rabbit and instead set his teeth to the fish bones, while the hunting dog immediately chased after the hare.

Lycurgus had specifically arranged this demonstration to make a point. Even though both dogs were of the same breed, and the same litter, they did not have the same interests or behavior. Both were potential hunters, but both did not automatically chase the hare. Only the trained hunter reacted to the prey, completely ignoring the freely given bones. The other one acted opposite. Both behaved as they were used to, not even noticing the other option.

Then Lycurgus turned to the people and said, "Do you see this? So true is it that, in the end, habit overcomes even the most violent inclinations of nature." A dog that is a hunter by nature, but has had the habit of being fed in the kitchen, will not end up as a hunting dog.

So it is too with people. Each one of us is strongly influenced by our own life experience. However, unlike dogs, we don’t have to let our lives dictate the sort of persons we become. We can choose to form ourselves by our own habits. It can be very hard at first to overcome fallen human nature and stick to our good resolutions. But if we make the habit of turning to God in our needs, He will give us the strength to persevere and become the wonderful persons we were born to be.