There was a time in my life when it took me 20 minutes to walk a mile on the treadmill, and that was when I thought I was pushing myself. The first time I tried to do a push-up I face-planted on the floor. The first time I tried to make a budget I totally underestimated how much money I should set aside for gas and groceries. And then there was the time that I vowed to learn to eat healthy and then gagged on the vegetables I didn’t particularly care for.
All of these were things I thought I could just “start doing on Monday” and then excel at. As it turns out, I had to discipline myself to workout and eat healthy and make wise financial decisions. It was all hard work, whether physical, mental, or both. It took time for the hard work to become a habit and for me to see results, and even once they did become habits, I learned the hard way that habits—disciplines—can die off if I don’t continue to work at them.
Discipline is meant to train a person for growth. It doesn’t allow for stagnation. By its nature, all discipline also involves a level of personal responsibility and hard work that isn’t always easy.
In order to flourish with your finances, you have to develop discipline to practice budgeting and living within your means. In order to grow in physical strength and stamina, you have to be disciplined enough to push your body through cardio or weight training while also balancing rest and recovery. In order to heal and maintain your body’s overall health, you have to discipline yourself to eat a well-balanced diet and ensure your body is getting all the vitamins and nutrients it needs to thrive.
On paper, all of these things seem “easy,” or at least doable. However, it’s one thing to know something is the right thing to do and another to actually put that thing into practice.
Dave Ramsey says the discipline of personal finance is 80% behavior and only 20% head-knowledge. I believe that to be the case for just about any discipline, including spiritual disciplines.
Spiritual disciplines help cultivate godly habits that draw us deeper into a relationship with God. As with any other discipline, creating and sustaining habits is not easy, but God calls us to them for our good. He’s called us to discipline ourselves through prayer, the study of His Word, worship, generous giving, service, gratitude, and even just the act of “being” in His presence through times of quietness and solitude. All of these things are meant to have a positive impact on our lives of faith.
Now, just to be clear, these disciplines are not meant to earn our salvation or atone for a time of spiritual stagnation. We recognize salvation as Christ’s work on the cross, the gift of grace from God, our Father. Disciplines also aren’t just things on a to-do list for every Christian to achieve a desired result. Results imply an end-point to some task, and disciplines are on-going, relational building blocks with our Father. We don’t arrive at a point of completion with spiritual disciples; we form and maintain godly habits.
Paul writes in 1 Timothy:
If you put these things before the brothers, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, being trained in the words of the faith and of the good doctrine that you have followed. Have nothing to do with irreverent, silly myths. Rather train yourself for godliness; for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come. The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance. For to this end we toil and strive, because we have our hope set on the living God, who is the Savior of all people, especially of those who believe. (4:6-10)
Paul takes two letters to provide Timothy with a model for what it looks like to live a godly life and to care for God’s Church and His people. He underscores the importance of training for godly living, the active pursuit of God’s purposes: the benefits of discipline in godliness extend beyond the person practicing the discipline to all those who witness their faith in–and dedication to–Christ Jesus. A disciplined life points to Jesus and sets an example of following in His will.
Last Fall, the women’s Bible study that I am a part of at church walked through a season on spiritual disciplines. We had lots of lively conversations about the ways these disciplines have enriched our lives. We also had conversations about how convicted we felt by those disciplines we struggle with. Like any other discipline, spiritual disciplines can be a challenge as we learn and grow through them. One thing that came from the discussions around our struggles was the realization that support is important to discipline. Sometimes we “fall off the bandwagon” and need help getting back up. Sometimes it’s helpful to engage in the discipline of prayer together. Worship is another discipline that is strengthened by the fellowship of believers. Sometimes we struggle with just “being still,” and it’s helpful to hear what practices have worked for other sisters in Christ.
Let me challenge you as you consider spiritual discipline:
First, work your way into spiritual disciplines just like you would work your way into exercise. You wouldn’t start day one of a fitness routine with “today I’m running a 10K!” Similarly, you also wouldn’t start a life of scripture reading by saying, “I’ve never really sat and read my Bible…I’m going to start reading two hours a day!” Identify a handful of disciplines that you would like to grow in, start small, and work until they become a habit. As these habits form, continue adding other aspects of the discipline—or branch into other disciplines—and watch as they enrich your life of faith.
Second, find a group of people to embark on this journey with you. Maybe it’s your morning or evening Bible study group. Maybe it’s a small group/life group. Maybe it’s members of your extended or immediate family. Maybe it’s just one or two close friends. Support and encouragement—and sometimes even accountability—are important. Find those people who can walk with you—and whom you can walk alongside—to be that cloud of witnesses, an encouragement in the faith and pursuit of godly purposes.
Spiritual disciplines help cultivate godly habits that draw us deeper into a relationship with God. They can also unite us and draw us deeper into relationships with one another. They can be challenging at times, but all good things in life are worth some level of effort. So “train yourself for godliness; for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.” (1 Timothy 4:7-8)
