Tuesday, October 18

Discipline

I have been thinking about discipline a lot lately. Not the IF YOU CHOOSE TO HIT YOUR BROTHER WITH THAT RUBBER HIPPO YOU ARE CHOOSING TO NOT PLAY WITH IT FOR THE REST OF THE MONTH kind of discipline, but the...other one. You know, the one that comes from deep within. It is managed by you alone; you are the master and commander. Kind of. That's what I have been thinking about really. What is discipline? And how can a person become a "disciplined person" (because it does not seem to be something we are naturally born with)?

Someone wise recently said that discipline is making the right choice when faced with all of life's little decisions. Should I hit the snooze or sleep another 15? Should I read Time magazie or my Bible (one I face each day, since those two sit in the center of my table)? Coke or water? Exercise or rest? Making a wise choice in one of those areas seems worth wildly cheering, for most of us. At what point does one become a "disciplined person"? If I make all the right choices with food, study, relationships, exercise, but I smoke, am I an undiscipined person?

And I guess the real question for me is...does it matter? Why is it important to be a disciplined person? Can't I be a really good person, with good relationships and a healthy life in Christ and drink ten Dr. Peppers a day?

Once I get my brain around why it is important to be disciplined, I have a trunkload of questions about motivation and practice. Stay tuned.
at Tuesday, October 18, 2005

6 comments:

Ike Graul said...

I guess rather than seeing "discipline" as making the right decision, I see it as keeping promises to yourself no matter how small they are. So I can be disciplined in not drinking Coke or I can be disciplined in drinking it. It's about doing what I've committed myself to do.

6:06 PM
Anonymous said...

"No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.
Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees. "Make level paths for your feet," so that the lame may not be disabled, but rather healed. --Hebrews 12:11-13

8:16 PM
Cheryl said...

Discipline inherently includes control. Self-control. Which is one of the fruits of His Spirit. The evidence of Him in our life.

For me, the answer to "why be disciplined" would be "to remember and practice my need for Him and His control in my spirit, mind and body."

We are all controlled by something...self, Him, career, food,money...
Discipline is choosing what has control...practicing that choice daily and declaring what that choice is with the outcomes. I think.

3:39 AM
KMiV said...

Its interesting that Ameica is a country of "choices" and my generation and your generation are ones that have capitalized on that theme. Discipline is about choices.

Yet in other countries that don't have choices discipline seems to be about accepting what you have.

Interesting how things are different in other places.

6:57 AM
Unknown said...

Right now, discipline for me, isn't coming year by year, month by month, or even week by week. It's a day by day thing, or even better, an hour by hour thing.

I am the person that hits "snooze" for an hour or two every morning--praise God that He gave me the wisdom to set the alarm for at least a few hours before the time I absolutely have to get up!

Last week, I had four days of hitting that obnoxious and yet alluring bar only once--four days in a row! This morning, I hit it three times. But even with that, I still had time to exercise and have quiet time before "getting a start on the day."

I'm beginning to think discipline simply goes back to that word that we throw around a lot "choice." I'm making the choice to get out of bed this morning, leaving the snooze bar to rest, in order to do some positive things in my life. Today I'm chooseing to discipline in this area. Hopefully, tomorrow, I will choose to be disciplined again.

12:47 PM
Steve Maxwell said...

Alright now I have time to post. I gotta tell ya K-White, it is refreshing to even hear someone thinkig about what discipline means for them. We do not live in the "discipline age". With that said, really liking the other posts, I can identify with what Cheryl said the most I think. I serve a God that is so good I can't believe it most times. And I desire to please Him in everyway so I will do my best to make habit's those things that strengthen that relationship.

4:46 PM

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