Sunday, August 8, 2010

The Imporatance of Discipline

by Rev. James Wong
“For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.” (2 Tim 1:7 NIV).

Power, love and self-discipline are the three essentials that we need to rise above our human weaknesses and tap into the potentials that God has given to us.

Here are some thoughts from the Bible that talk about the importance and the values of self-discipline.

1. A lack of discipline is disastrous
Without discipline there will be no significant achievement in life. Most of our failures in achieving our goals are linked to a lack of discipline. In fact Proverbs 5:23 (NIV) says “He will die for lack of discipline, led astray by his own great folly.” A lack of discipline is fatal to any kind of success.

2. Discipline helps us to be a better person
Discipline is good punishment to correct our habits or thinking so that we can progress in life. We become a better person when we accept discipline. “People who accept discipline are on the pathway to life, but those who ignore correction will go astray.” (Prov 10:17 NLT).

3. God will discipline those he loves
Discipline shows that God loves us. We should look at the hardship we go through in life as a kind of discipline. They could be discipline that comes from God for our good. “Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father?” (Heb 12:7 NIV). In fact blessed is the man that God disciplines (Psalms 94:12 NIV).

4. Discipline helps us to live a fruitful life.
“No discipline is enjoyable while it is happening—it's painful! But afterward there will be a peaceful harvest of right living for those who are trained in this way.” (Heb 12:11 NIV). To live a fruitful spiritual life we need to develop certain spiritual habits of worship, daily devotion, prayer, serving and giving. If we are not successful in such basic habits, it is because we do not have the discipline to follow through.

This is true in all other fields of endeavors. It takes a certain measure of discipline to achieve a worthy goal. A musician is not born overnight. It takes years of disciplined practice to perfect the art. Zig Ziglar, the world renowned motivational speaker says: “It was character that got us out of bed, commitment that moved us into action, and discipline that enabled us to follow through.”

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