Greetings in Jesus’ Name!
This week we look at self-discipline and self-control
These principles have a very clear role in human growth; from
a Christian perspective, we treat them as synonymous. Basic refs. are
Old Testament:
Psalm 40:8
I delight to do thy will, O my
God, because they law is within my heart.
Find your will within God’s will –
it’s not a bunch of ‘don’t’s! Just 2 commands is all – walk within these and
your strength – physical, emotional, mental – will grow, and so will your
ability to influence others for good! You will see the difference and you will
know.
Hosea 6:6
I desire mercy, not sacrifice.
Nothing to do with self-denial,
which is more often than not a display to impress others or to convince
yourself about achieving some sort of godliness or credit with God. Never a matter of I can’t do this I’m a
Christian but one of I don’t want to, rather. You cannot intend doing a good deed;
it is always spontaneous.
New Testament:
Matt 23:4
Take my yoke upon you, and learn
from me; for my yoke is easy, and my burden is light
This business of control and
discipline is not an incredibly difficult thing to do if you walk with God; The
Lord will enable you. The ability to shape your life will be the observable result
of that walk! Instead of ‘talking’ to God, listen. Practice that little vs that
says Be still and know. Relax, and be focused on the One God. Stillness is
immense; knowing has incredible depth; whether you think about or look towards
for God the Father, God the Son, or God the Holy Spirit does not matter. God is
spirit, God is light, God is love.
Mark 9:50
If salt has lost it saltiness,
how will you season anything with it?
This again is the result of the vine and branch analogy
Jesus speaks of; we cannot decide on our own to be salt and so become it; we
grow into it, and once part of it, that growth accelerates, as long as we stay
connected to Jesus. We cannot say I am going to be a witness for Christ; this is
an inherent result, one that needs no conscious decision, but comes from who
you are and what you have become.
See also Ps 24:1; Gal 5:22-23; and James 3:6-10!
Let’s start with ourselves and our discipline and control of
our stewardship of the body, which has been given to us for our time on this
earth. There is too much to say at one go, so for these few weeks we will open on
a single aspect of health, be it mental, physical, or spiritual. From my work
in Geriatrics at Duke Univ. years ago, through managing Mass State’s Home Care
and Elder Abuse programs, I have learned a few things.
Think about the hardest working muscle in your body – your
heart. Even when you sleep or say you will get a little rest, it is still
working, 24/7, without stopping, Do not give up on it, and hope that it will
not give up on you until the time is right for you to leave. As we age, glycation
develops, because of what we eat and how much we eat of it, and our lack of
exercise. Heart tissue changes, not for the better. The lack of moderation causes
hardening and thickening of heart tissue. If you need cardiac meds, be it high
blood pressure or high cholesterol (hyperlipidemia!) and so forth, take them as
you should. Work with your Doctor. But do not make the mistake of thinking, ah,
I’ve got meds, it is all ok now. It is not. Medicine is not an exact science.
It can only do so much and go so far. Much depends on you. It is your body, and
you just might have more control over it than you realize.
Develop your own exercise schedule. Slowly, incrementally……and
stick to it. It will pay dividends! This is a must for all of us as we age! Check
out the Norwegian 4 x 4 x 4 program. Work on it a couple of times a week. It
will require discipline. Controlling your diet is no different. You don’t have
to give up anything, you just have to moderate everything. It will require
control. And so forth. Check with your Doctor if you need to. But do it. It is never
too late to start, no matter how incremental you might need to be. I started
exercising some 20 yrs ago. Between the boys egging me on and K watching my
diet, I have had family on my side! Once you have the 4 x 4 x 4 program
beginning, work on split squats and banded glute work. Identify yr own physical
weaknesses and strengthen them. Stay functional, maintain your independence,
guard against frailty as far as you can possibly do so, and keep within
reasonable limits. It is entirely possible to age well. Always be careful not
to compromise your health. Not exactly a commodity you can buy.
Now let’s get into self-control and discipline. Realize that
behind these ‘principles’ lie both your will and your intent. Will is exercised
when we decide to get out of bed. We use our will to power our every action, every
day, on everything we decide to do. And this will is used for purpose and
intention – be it good or evil. We are what we choose to be. Look around, the
examples of choice and behavior are all around us. Very doable. Seems easier to
be bad as vs being good? Not really. It’s all in the enabling and that which is
behind it.
Few Corporations serve the human condition, unless they are distinctly and carefully
non-profit. Even then there has always been the
spectre of moral limits, with some priests and choir boys. Or other similar or
related issues when children, women, the poor and the less fortunate, are all
abused. Never mind hiding behind the excuse of ‘sin’. It’s human will and
intention. There is no need to get philosophical about the why of it. These are
all nothing more than rationalizations. Be wary of them.
The Invitation Jesus gives is to embark on the training of
your will under his guidance. Hence John says If the Son shall make you free,
you shall be free indeed (8.36) You can choose your habits, lose the harmful,
replace them with better ones! And Jesus will help you make it happen. You must
just want it to be so. And as noted, it is never a matter of self-denial. Much
more one of moderation and balance. It’s not your one hour or so of worship in
church; the fellowship is a social exercise which may be supportive and helpful
for some; or even a musical one. But what is crucial is the opening up of your
entire life to God, sharing all of your activities. The salt that we are to
become is the salt that he pours into our lives. And when you do it right, ability
grows, in quantity and quality.
All of my life I have seen folk deceive themselves into thinking
that feeling is somehow sufficient. But it never is and creates nothing
lasting. The end result is what counts. The world is full of illusion;
religious talk can be one of the chief culprits. Be aware. Never trust talk. Only
the actions count. God gives us free will. We start with our intentions and we
pare down the negative – the bias, the prejudice, the weak and useless
self-centered habits of mind and body. Danish philosopher Soren Kierkegard once
said that purity of heart is to will one thing. Exactly so. Let the one thing be
the One God, and we cannot go wrong. Habits create pathways in our brains. Be wary
lest we become like the old-fashioned needle stuck in a record groove, playing
the same phrase over and over again, repeating itself. You know the phrase –
I’m old and I’m set in my ways. But with God, nothing ages, other than the body
which is only a temp. form. So change the needle. Or move the needle. Instead
of praying brush away the cobwebs of my life, O lord! kill the spider yourself.
It’s right there in your will and intent.
Ony then can we begin the amazing prototokos experiment that much of the
so-called Christian world continues to fail at. But Jesus calls us to it. We
are no longer influenced by that which the world says is good because we can
see beyond it. We don’t have to condemn anything or anyone. Leave them be. They
must walk their own path for better or worse. Focus on your own.
Perhaps the worst manifest intent in our lives today is the
greed of the humanity that we find ourselves living amongst. Perhaps it’s
always been there, but these days with technology the scale is huge! The
insatiable need for the meaningless accumulation of personal wealth, power,
control. We must all die, but many will find little comfort in what comes
after. They have been too intent on making this a hell on earth for so many others
when they could do so much good instead. But good-ness is Godliness. It speaks
for itself through what it does.
Years ago in the ‘60’s there was this British rock band
called Rare Bird, and one of their better known songs was called Sympathy. It
said, among other words
‘now half the world hates the other half; and half the
world, has all the food; and half the world, lies down and quietly starves; for
there’s not enough love to go round.’
Not much has changed or gotten better. So we must walk a
different path. And we must find new ways to make things better. The old ways
have not worked. Choose your friends carefully. Walk the same journey, and God
bless everyone of us, in Jesus’ name. G.
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