Bad habits can range from viewing pornography to gambling to tobacco use to excessive TV to excessive use of the Internet. Bad habits reduce our effectiveness for Christ because we lack assurance of salvation with God, we may feel guilt so that we lack confidence in helping others. Witnessing becomes a task that one does not feel qualified to attempt. I. First confession needs to be used in regard to a habit that is sinful. We can easily rationalize or give a reason to justify a habit.
Confession breaks that pattern.
Sometimes we may deny that we have a habit. I can quit smoking at any time, someone might say. But he or she cannot quit. A good principle for analyzing whether a habit is harmful is does the habit have power over one. Here Paul probably quotes some of the Corinthian slogans they justified their actions with.