Spiritual Disciplines

Many people cringe when they hear the word "discipline." Perhaps they feel like it gets in the way of doing what they want to do. However, another way to look at it is to realize that discipline is simply what we have to do to get what we want. Paul uses the analogy of sports in 1 Corinthians 9:24-27 and compares the spiritual life of a Christian to an athlete in training: Just like a runner or a boxer trains their body to make it do what they want it to do in a competition, Christians must discipline themselves so that they can live as God has called us.

All discipline starts with submission. In sports, athletes submit to following the rules of the game as well as to the authority of referees who enforce those rules. In life, we must have the humility to submit to God's authority as the Creator of the universe to make and enforce the rules. But too often, we want to live our lives according to our own rules that we make up along the way. If we are going to live our lives God's way, we must start by humbling ourselves and acknowledging who He is as the Lord over everything. However, we must be careful of letting even our obedience become a source of pride. This was the mistake of the Pharisees. Just because we do something that God tells us to do, it doesn't make us any better than someone else. In fact, if that is our attitude, then we haven't really obeyed God at all (Matthew 6:5-6)

We must also remember that God cannot be manipulated. Spiritual disciplines like prayer, fasting, reading the Bible, etc. are not part of a process that we use to get God to do what we want Him to do. WE DO NOT USE GOD AS A MEANS TO AN END!!! He IS the end, the goal, the ultimate prize (John 17:2-3). We need to stop worrying about whether or not sports or our favorite foods will be in heaven and remember that God will be there! And He's the only thing that matters. We must seek His face before we seek His hand.

Finally, discipline is directed by desire. Everyone wants something and everyone is willing to put up with unpleasant consequences to get it. Only someone who really wants to win a marathon will push their body to the edge instead of taking it easy. Only someone who really wants to get good grades will study instead of watching TV or playing video games. Only someone who really wants God will make time in their day to meet with Him. The question then becomes: What do you really want? For those of you who call yourself a Christian, is it God you want or do are you just interested in what you think He can do for you? Go read Psalm 73:25-28 and Philippians 3:8 and ask yourself if you want God as much as the Pslamist or the apostle Paul.