So a disciplined person is able to subject or control himself

Welcome to the column of our „Daily Word for Spiritual Edification”! Grace and peace from our Lord Jesus Christ be multiplied unto you! We have been talking about discipline in the past few days and we are trying to define what discipline really mean. We have established that discipline is the subjection or submission of oneself to a well defined outward order or a set of rules for the purpose of attaining desired results. Discipline therefore is a product of a well defined desire. If we really want something so bad, that will discipline us in the area of our choices. For example, you have a desire or a dream to become a better wife, a better husband or a better minister in a year’s time. Or you want to see a greater success in the ministry, career or finances in two year’s time. That type of vision is able to motivate and encourage you to make right choices, since you understand that your vision won’t just happen on its own, if you do not work for it. You also understand that any progress in life requires certain changes in you. So with a definite vision or desired result in mind, it is easy to make right choices such as studying, learning, doing research and so on. Your vision will prompt you to want to understand the changes you need to make in order to attain your goal. As a result of right decisions in this areas, you will find out what you need to become, what qualities and skills you need to develop, what you must do or what you need to avoid in order to reach your goals. Such knowledge will help you to create some rules, laws and routines for yourself that will help you arrive at your desired destination. When you now submit yourself to those self-impose rules and laws that are suppose to help you achieve your goals, — that is discipline. (As we said previously, discipline is submitting yourself to certain rules that you have made for yourself in order to reach a goal). A disciplined person is always in submission to certain set of rules and order. If you do not have any rules or regulations, if you avoid the word ‘order’, in your life, then you are undisciplined, and you won’t be able to experience any spiritual progress or growth. Spiritual growth which is related to positive changes in a person’s life is not a heritage meant for undisciplined people. If a person lacks discipline, he will always break and ignore rules and regulations. It does not matter how many sets of rules and regulations he impose on himself for noble purposes, an undisciplined man will break them all as soon as he made them. Remember that these rules we are talking about are not imposed on you, you made them yourself for your own personal good, because you want to achieve some particular goals in life and develop some character traits. If you are able to control your own behaviour and make sure no circumstances or outward factors will distract you from your goal; if you can harness your willpower and submit yourself to the self-imposed order you’ve created, then you can count yourself to be a disciplined person. Let’s look at the life of Apostle Paul. In 1^st Corinthians Paul wrote the following: 

«And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown. Therefore I run thus: not with uncertainty. Thus I fight: not as one who beats the air. But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified» (1 Corinthians, 9:25-27).

 In this passage Paul talks about a desire he is working towards in his life. He doesn’t want to be counted unworthy or disqualified by God at the end of his ministry. This is something concerning his future, because Paul is quite aware of the fact that a time is coming when Jesus will assess his life and work, so Paul wanted to be found worthy when that time comes. In order for that to happen Paul said he has to continually bring his body under subjection. In other words, Paul is saying he subjected himself to certain routines or rules. That is to say Paul disciplined himself for the sake of reaching this goal he had set before himself. Paul was comparing that process with gruelling training that athletes are involved in so they can reach their goals in sports (for example, participants of Olympic Games). These people sacrifice so much and restrain themselves from many things to set a record and win competitions. 

«And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown…» (1 Corinthians 9:25).

 Everyone athletes that competes put some restrains on himself and depriving himself from many lawful things in order to obtain a perishable crown. We have a much better reason for self-discipline than athletes do, – we have eternity in our hearts and we are to impose restrains on ourselves for the sake of eternal reward: 

«And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown» (1 Corinthians, 9:25).

 We know Paul didn’t mention what his routine was and how he trained himself in the passage we read from 1 Corinthians, 9:25-27. But we can see from that same passage that Paul was extremely a disciplined person who was able to control his body and „bring it into subjection” in order to reach his goals in life. So a disciplined person is able to subject or control himself. He is not subjected or controlled by his flesh; rather he subjects his flesh and his desires and put them in their rightful place in life.  Tomorrow we will continue to learn from Paul in the area of self-discipline.  I wish you abundant God’s blessings! Pastor Rufus Ajiboye