Discipline
For your ways are in full view of the Lord,
and he examines all your paths.
The evil deeds of the wicked ensnare them;
the cords of their sins hold them fast.
For lack of discipline they will die,
led astray by their own great folly.
Proverbs 5:21-23
We are almost a week out of New Years and I wonder how your resolutions are going? Apparently, most people give up on their resolutions by the 19th of January. Why is that?
Well, for many of us, it is a lack of discipline. Is this you?
It certainly is me.
Now, look, if a lack of discipline means you don’t lose a few kilos or you never get to read The Lord of the Rings like you wanted to. Oh well, no massive deal. But as the writer of Proverbs reminds us, discipline can be a matter of life & death (eternally speaking).
I don’t think this Proverb is overstating things. I’ve seen too many people walk away from the faith not because of a deliberate, intentional choice to reject Jesus. But instead, they slowly walk away because they stop reading their Bible, stop turning up to Church and so on.
So how do we grow our discipline? Well, there are a bunch of books you could read on this (I’m about to tackle Atomic Habits by James Clear). But here are two important principles:
Some goals were always going to fail. Waking up half an hour early to read your Bible and Pray sounds great. But for most people, it’s just such a change of routine and pattern to make it doomed. Whether it is reading, praying, exercising more etc. think about how these things could flow with regular patterns and routines.
I hate telling people about my goals. Because then I might just have to keep them. This is exactly why we should. Accountability activates some impulses like competitiveness and gets them working for our good. But don’t just tell someone about your goal. Ask them to check in with you and to not let you give up.
We need to be prepared for failure. We are weak and sinful. But don’t give up. If you have already. Pick those goals up and have another crack.
For Today:
Pray:
and he examines all your paths.
The evil deeds of the wicked ensnare them;
the cords of their sins hold them fast.
For lack of discipline they will die,
led astray by their own great folly.
Proverbs 5:21-23
We are almost a week out of New Years and I wonder how your resolutions are going? Apparently, most people give up on their resolutions by the 19th of January. Why is that?
Well, for many of us, it is a lack of discipline. Is this you?
It certainly is me.
Now, look, if a lack of discipline means you don’t lose a few kilos or you never get to read The Lord of the Rings like you wanted to. Oh well, no massive deal. But as the writer of Proverbs reminds us, discipline can be a matter of life & death (eternally speaking).
I don’t think this Proverb is overstating things. I’ve seen too many people walk away from the faith not because of a deliberate, intentional choice to reject Jesus. But instead, they slowly walk away because they stop reading their Bible, stop turning up to Church and so on.
So how do we grow our discipline? Well, there are a bunch of books you could read on this (I’m about to tackle Atomic Habits by James Clear). But here are two important principles:
- Thoughtful Routines
Some goals were always going to fail. Waking up half an hour early to read your Bible and Pray sounds great. But for most people, it’s just such a change of routine and pattern to make it doomed. Whether it is reading, praying, exercising more etc. think about how these things could flow with regular patterns and routines.
- Accountability
I hate telling people about my goals. Because then I might just have to keep them. This is exactly why we should. Accountability activates some impulses like competitiveness and gets them working for our good. But don’t just tell someone about your goal. Ask them to check in with you and to not let you give up.
We need to be prepared for failure. We are weak and sinful. But don’t give up. If you have already. Pick those goals up and have another crack.
For Today:
- Do you struggle with discipline?
- What is one routine you could add to?
- Who is one person you could be accountable to?
Pray:
- Praise the Father that He is the source of all wisdom and strength.
- Give thanks for Jesus Christ who gives us an example of perfect discipline.
- Ask God for His Holy Spirit to help you and others grow in discipline.
Posted in Proverbs
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