Why Do I Do What I Don't Want to Do? Replace Deadly Vices with Life-Giving Virtues

by Jonathan "JP" Pokluda; Jon Green

Publisher:

Baker

, 2023

Overview

How to overcome the habits that are stealing joy from your life

Our upside-down culture celebrates vice and undervalues virtue, leading us to feed the wrong habits while we allow life-giving practices to die. It’s no wonder we feel empty, exhausted, and directionless.

There’s a better, more fulfilling way to live, and it doesn’t involve looking inside yourself for the answers--because that’s not where you’ll find them. With his signature wit and wisdom, Jonathan “JP” Pokluda helps you

● unpack the age-old virtues we’re told to pursue in Scripture
● understand how these God-given goals free us to love and live as we wish we would
● redefine what’s important to you and reclaim a life of virtue

Practicing virtues is not just something you do--it’s something done in you, slowly but surely transforming you into the person you were meant to be all along.

From the Back Cover

How to overcome the habits that are stealing joy from your life

Our upside-down culture celebrates vice and undervalues virtue, leading us to feed the wrong habits while we allow life-giving practices to die. It’s no wonder we feel empty, exhausted, and directionless.

There’s a better, more fulfilling way to live, and it doesn’t involve looking inside yourself for the answers--because that’s not where you’ll find them. With his signature wit and wisdom, Jonathan “JP” Pokluda explains, unpacks, and expands on the age-old virtues we’re told to pursue in Scripture: humility, forgiveness, sobriety, generosity, diligence, self-control, authenticity, rest, optimism, and gratitude. Far from being restrictive, these God-given goals for living free us to love and live as we wish we would.

Practicing virtues is not just something you do--it’s something done in you, slowly but surely transforming you into the person you were meant to be all along. Whether you’re eighteen or eighty, it’s never too late to redefine what’s important to you and reclaim a life of virtue.


"Every Christian I know gets stuck at some point in their journey doing something they don’t want to do. In this book, JP not only shows you the way out but also presents a biblical and practical path to freedom that only Jesus can offer."--Jennie Allen, New York Times bestselling author of Find Your People; founder and visionary of IF: Gathering

"For all of us who wonder why sin is so tempting and wish we had better tools to turn away from it, JP gives us those tools in this book. It’s genuine, kind, and may sting a little, but it will also walk you toward who you want to be."--Annie F. Downs, New York Times bestselling author of That Sounds Fun

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Product Details

• Title: Why Do I Do What I Don't Want to Do? Replace Deadly Vices with Life-Giving Virtues
• Authors: Jonathan "JP" Pokluda, Jon Green
• Publisher: Baker
• Print Publication Date: 2023
• Logos Release Date: 2022
• Pages: 224
• Language: English
• Resources: 1
• Format: Digital › Ebook
• ISBNs: 9781493439485, 9780801094965, 0801094968, 1493439480
• Resource ID: LLS:9781493439485
• Resource Type: Monograph
• Metadata Last Updated: 2025-04-22T23:40:35Z

About the Authors

Jonathan "JP" Pokluda is lead pastor of Harris Creek Baptist Church in Waco, Texas, and author of the bestselling Welcome to Adulting and Outdated, as well as the Welcome to Adulting Survival Guide and Welcoming the Future Church. He lives with his wife, Monica, and their three children.

Jon Green has been on staff at Harris Creek in Waco, Texas, since 2013. He is a graduate of Baylor University and is the managing editor of BibleReadingPlan.org, a daily devotional and Bible study. Jon and his wife, Amanda, have two children and another on the way.