I often consider whether sometimes the biggest idiosyncrasies of the modern Christian man are due to the lack of biblical exposition on minor topics that have little to do with morality, salvation, sanctification, or traditional pulpit-pounding content. One of these was brought to the forefront of my attention by a friend who was having a conversation with me about podcasts. I mentioned this blog, that we were planning on starting a podcast section (stoked, btw), and that we planned to include guest speakers that were Christians first, to talk about anything from entrepreneurship to discipline. My friend mentioned that there was little to do with those topics in the Bible, and that because they weren't pivotal to our walk with Christ, wouldn't there be more fruitful subjects to expound on?
Au Contraire.
Discipline is exceptionally important to one's faith, I would argue, for a number of different reasons. First, it is a gift of the Holy Spirit (2 Timothy 1:7), and its a recurring topic in passing throughout the old and new testament, albeit not heavily examined by any particular individual, at least to my knowledge. Second, there are four individuals in the bible that weigh in on the majority of the references to discipline: David, Solomon, Peter, and Paul. All of which are pivotal figures in the establishment of the law and the church, and are looked at as the bedrock figures of the Judeo-Christian faith. If it was important enough for them to mention, I think it's safe to say that it's a value that's at least worth looking at.
I want to make this post a little less protracted, and a little bit more structured than some of my others. So, I'll get to the meat of it in the hopes of keeping it as short as possible, whilst letting scripture do most of the talking.
Men need to have discipline. There are innumerable contexts where we ought to be disciplined, but for the sake of keeping things short, we will focus on the three most common contexts: Spiritual Studies, Physical Exercise, and Skill/Mastery.
Lets dive in.
What does the bible say about physical exercise? Again, lets let the scripture speak for itself here, first.
"Have nothing to do with godless mythos and old wives' tales; rather, train yourself to be godly. For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come."
1 Timothy 4:7-8
Godliness and spiritual acumen over physical capability, but not at the expense of the latter - got it.
"Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies."
1 Cor. 6:19-20
It's important to note that the presiding theme over this passage is sexual immorality. This verse is talking specifically about sexual immorality. HOWEVER, the principle can be extracted and in this particular case, easily applied to the context of fitness. Sexual desecration is abhorrent in God's sight, but if our body is a temple, and we are called to not pollute, violate, profane it, I would argue, to show negligence toward it's upkeep, would be consistent with the initial principle of it being a sign of disrespect toward God and His temple.
"She sets about her work vigorously, her arms are strong for her tasks."
Proverbs 31:17
Okay, this one is about women. But like the prior, the principle of your physical capability meeting or exceeding the demand of your labor, applies both to men and women. In this particular context, it is seen as honorable.
"So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God."
1 Cor. 10:31
Paul here is writing to the Corinthians about their rights as individuals and how they work in conjunction with the Christian faith. See verses 23-24 specifically for a morsel that I quote heavily on, that will change your life. We, as sinful, wretched individuals, who desired wrath over perfect unity with God, have been redeemed and made new by Jesus. We then, ought to perform every act and every thought, every single day, to the glory of our Lord and Savior. Including our physical health.
Practical example:
We are called to be the Church. That requires action. Sacrifice even. If you balloon up to 400lbs and cant get out of your bed, will you be of any value to your community when the next hurricane knocks someone's roof in. No. Not in the slightest bit. You're well within your rights to be unhealthy. But it's not good, and it's desecrating the temple. Not everything that is permissible, is beneficial.
Proverbs 20:29 - The glory of young men is in their strength.
Romans 12:1 - Offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God.
1 Cor. 3:17 - Don't you know that you are now God's temple? If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy that person, for God's temple is sacred.
Need I carry on? I think the picture is painted pretty implicitly that we are to maintain our bodies, to an unspecified degree of functionality, in reverence to the Lord as his living temple.
What does the bible say about Discipline in Spiritual Study?
According to the aforementioned verse in 1 Timothy 4:7-8, physical fitness and ability is important, but one's first priority in development ought to be Spiritual and mental acumen, something that is sorely lacking in believers and unbelievers alike these days.
Here is what the scriptures say about it:
The entire section of Psalm 119:9:16 eloquently esteems the Law of God, elaborating on how the writer loves the law, how living according to it keeps Man pure, and how they meditate on His precepts and consider His ways. It's beautiful, but long. Read it.
Psalm 119: 9-16
Likewise Psalm 119: 97-104
"For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart."
Hebrews 4:12
This is a juicy one. I do my best to not reduce the Word of God to soundbytes or pithy slogans, but one that I've heard that has always stuck with me is that "When you read the Bible, the Bible reads you." I've always loved that. John 1:1 says that in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. God, who is the Word, uses His Word to, when we read it, memorize it, and meditate on it, judge the thoughts and attitudes of our hearts. The Scriptures convict us, and illuminate the path to sanctification, though not by our works and only through the saving grace of Jesus' death on the cross and resurrection.
"Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips, meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful."
Joshua 1:8
"Listen my son, accept what I say, and the years of your life will be many."
Proverbs 4:10
Basically all of Psalm 119.
These indicate that the scriptures are authoritative to provide direction and wisdom in innumerable contexts, and that they bless those that read and live by them with success and prosperity, in a spiritual sense. Let me just say, that this DOES NOT declare that God will give you wealth, physical health, Lamborghinis, mansions, social clout, or any of the like. The context of these passages are not in physical riches. If God decides to bless you with those, in addition to the wisdom of his scriptures, then God has blessed you indeed, as He did Solomon, and you ought to give thanks.
"Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message [of Paul] with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true. As a result, many of them believed, as did also a number of prominent Greek women and many Greek men."
Acts 17:11
I love this passage. It commands us to cross-examine doctrine received by anyone, with what is said in the old and new testament scriptures, although in this particular context they were Berean JEWS so they would be looking to see that old testament scriptures backed up the points that Paul made in his letters to the early churches. On that note, you also ought to cross reference anything and everything I say with what is said in Scripture. That's a biblical command, but also doing so firms up your understanding of doctrine and its application in your life. The new testament also says that this is the ultimate litmus test for whether someone is a false prophet. If their words contradict scripture, they are a false prophet. (1 John 4:1. That was my next point.)
"All scripture is God-breathed (theópneustos) and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped, for every good work."
2 Timothy 3:16
This is the capstone of our argument here. The scriptures are the literal words of God, and are the tools for living out your life in a manner that is fulfilling and God-honoring, in addition to equipping you for completing the work that God has planned for you to accomplish in Him.
The bible doesn't explicitly say how we are to be disciplined in our reading and studying of the scriptures. Nor does it say that we ought to spend a specific amount of time in the Word each day, or as part of a morning routine or an evening routine. They do, I believe, make these implications:
1) Taking in scripture leads to wisdom and sanctification.
2) Studying scripture helps us to discern good doctrine from false doctrine.
3) The Bible reads you and will convict you and shape you into the man that God intends for you to be.
4) Studying the scriptures equips us for God's purposes in our lives.
A little bit of food for thought:
God asks us to tithe. Which is the first 10% of our increase. Some versions of scripture say increase, some say gain, either way, God puts a special emphasis on it being the FIRSTFRUITS that He wants. Should we not then, when considering the time we allot every day to God, consider whether He is also worthy of the first 10% of our time?
Finally, lets talk about Skill, or as I like to say, Mastery.
I think that every man has a desire to be good at something. Jack of all Trades, master of at least one of them, hopefully. I firmly believe that we are all made in the image of God (Genesis 1:27) and that God knows us intimately before we are even born. He has pre-ordained our skills, our occupations, and the paths of our lives.
"The LORD works out everything to its proper end - even the wicked for a day of disaster."
Proverbs 16:4
"Now may the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen."
Hebrews 13:20-21
So if God has preordained our paths for us, should we not place emphasis on honing the skills we are given by God, in order to accomplish his Will?
"Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows"
James 1:17
"So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God."
1 Cor. 10:31
Here's a few extra proof texts for your perusal:
Do you see someone skilled in their work? They will serve before kings; they will not serve before officials of low rank."
Proverbs 22:29
"And David shepherded them with integrity of heart, with skillful hands he led them."
Psalm 78:72
If we are to live lives that are honoring to God, we ought to be disciplined in our developing of a level of mastery in the skills that Jesus has given us to do His will and to further the kingdom. Do everything as if you are doing it for the Lord, not for men. (Colossians 3:23)
Okay so what?
So be disciplined. It's important. Scripture might not tell you to get up every morning at 6am, or to work out 3x a week, or to drink a gallon of water a day, but there are implied values all throughout the bible that should cause you to consider that discipline is indeed a Biblical value that we ought to aspire to. I've made the case, I think, for physical and spiritual discipline, as well as being disciplined in your proficiencies, but there are so many other ways that we ought to discipline ourselves on a daily basis, for the purposes of holiness and personal reward.
SOME DISCIPLINE TAKEAWAYS:
- Get up early and read. Measure out your day. Try to allocate the first 10% of your waking hours to Jesus. Spend it in the word, with a good cup of coffee, and in lots of prayer. If you're up from 7am-10pm, that's roughly 15hrs, so 1.5 hours with Jesus. 1hr of reading, 15 minutes of worship, 15 minutes of prayer. I believe you will see radical change in your relationship with Jesus if you spend this much time with him.
- Study your doctrines and theology. Test and approve what is of God. Your theology informs everything else you believe about your worldview.
- Keep your body healthy. Drink water as soon as you wake up and lukewarm water as soon as you go to sleep. Drink about a gallon a day. Cut out the garbage like soda (my poison, unfortunately), and replace fast food with fruits, or I even recommend looking into a biblically prescribed kosher diet, for a good idea of what is and isn't good for the body.
- Dedicate time bi-weekly to focus on training depreciable skills, and place emphasis during your week to work on the passions that the Spirit has placed in your heart. Then go and find ways to use those things to further His Kingdom. If it's not directly tied to your career, then maybe try volunteering. Pray that God uses you.
- Go to sleep at a regular hour.
- Bookend your day with dedicated morning and evening rituals. This will help you prepare for the day, getting your first few tasks completed sets the tone and the pace, and evening routines help you wind down, and keep you away from things that will harm your ability to rest peacefully, like your phone. I recommend reading something wholesome before bed. Avoid the histories of Josephus before bed, lest you end up with nightmares of the siege of Jerusalem. I've made that mistake recently.
So with this, I encourage you, brothers in Christ, to strive for a life of discipline, so that you may honor God with what you do. I ask that you pray for this movement. Pray for men of God to stand up for Scriptural values to be esteemed in society rather than reviled. Pray that we grow in the character of Christ. Pray that the wisdom that pours from a community of Godly individuals furthers the Kingdom of God in an earth-shaking way.
God bless you all.
-M
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