On Discipline

Last updated on: November 3, 2015 at 3:30 pm by Brandan Robertson

On Discipline 2015-11-03T15:30:54-04:00 Brandan Robertson

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Have you ever felt like your life was scattered and disorganized? That everything was a rush to get to the next thing on the “To-Do List”? Have you ever looked at the lives of others that seem so rhythmic and healthy, where they have time for personal wellbeing, accomplishing their dreams, and have a vibrant social life and wondered how in the world they do it when you’re giving all you have and are struggling just to get by?

I have.

I’ve often found myself so envious of others lives, filled with structure and vibrancy and have struggled to know what it is that separates my life from theirs. I am tired of feeling behind, of taking shortcuts, of always needing to run to the next thing, and never having the time I need to ground my life. I want a life of rhythm, one that priorities what’s most important over what (seems) most urgent. One that grants me time and energy to give my all to whatever task finds its way into my hands, to be fully present and full of energy for every moment of my life.

As I have struggled to figure out what the “secret” was that separated my life from the life of those whom I admired, the elusive answer finally hit me like a ton of bricks. It was so basic, so fundamental, so unglamorous, and also so achievable.

See what I mean? You probably just rolled your eyes as you read that. “Of course it’s discipline.” You say. We all know that if we buckled down and disciplined ourselves, creating rhythm and structure in our lives, we could achieve almost anything. We all know it. But so few of us actually do it. It’s so much easier to hit “snooze” on the alarm one more time. It’s easier to make excuses for our chronic lateness. It’s easier to take short cuts and tell ourselves that next time we’ll do it differently.

It’s far easier, in principle, to live an undisciplined life. But it’s far less satisfying.

What sparked this simple realization for me was a quote from Thomas a’ Kempis, the Dutch medieval canon who wrote the now famous spirituality texts, “Imitation of Christ”. In that devotional, a Kempis writes:

“It is harder toil to resist vices and passions than to sweat in bodily labor.”

It takes more energy to do the right thing when we are in an undisciplined life than it does to do the work of living in rhythm. It is in our disorderly disposition that temptations and vices are fueled and empowered. We are less concerned with living righteously and embodying love than we are with making sure we can just get by. But when we live our lives, working hard and in an orderly fashion, there is less time for temptations and more room for progress.

When we live undisciplined lives, we open ourselves to temptation. Temptation to “half-ass” our work. Temptation to be slothful and lazy. Temptation to exploit, disrespect, or take advantage of others. And at the end of the day, when we lay our head on our pillows, we feel the residual effects of our unkempt lives.

But when we discipline ourselves, make ourselves sweat, move methodically and intentionally through our lives, we make time for all that’s important and can lay our head on our pillows feeling fulfilled and full of life. Because we have done all that needed to be done and more. We have made time for what’s most important. What gives us life. We have delayed our need for immediate satisfaction, an in so doing, have reaped a more gratifying reward.

The key to living an abundant life, it seems to me, is not impulsive living. It’s not being able to do what we want, when we want it. It’s not freedom from structure or rules. It’s discipline.

May we go forth and find the resolve and accountability we need to do the hard work of disciplining ourselves. If we do, life and joy will flow from us like a rushing river and we will finally become all that we know we were meant to be

Uncategorized

Previous Post

November 1, 2015

The Flow of Love

Next Post

November 4, 2015 To Christian Voters in Houston

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Breaking News Contributor Post Current Events Devotional Devotional Ideas For A Better Tomorrow General Posts Guest Post Interview Missiology Nomad Rants Recalibrate Reflections Response Review The Other Side Theology Uncategorized

Select a Month May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 August 2017 July 2017 May 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 June 2013

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Who was Jesus' earthly father?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Joachim Zechariah Simeon Joseph