Discipline is key

At church today, one of my friends/acquaintances came up to me in between services to compliment me on my weight loss. He asked me, “Hey, didn’t you lose a bunch of weight a few years ago?” I said that yes, I had, but over the past couple of years I had gained it back. Then he asked the million-dollar question: “So what happened? Why’d you fall off the wagon?” (This particular friend has never been one for subtlety, which is what I like about him.) I have to admit that I’ve thought about that a lot over the past couple of months, and it boils down to two things - the compounding of multiple small poor decisions, and the lack of accountability to keep on track. In other words, multiple times per day, I had to make a decision about what food to put in my mouth, and too many times I made the wrong decision. Not only that, but I didn’t surround myself with people who would hold me accountable and ask me the tough questions.

Paul mentions this same thing in 1 Corinthians 9:

25Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. 26Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. 27No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.

 The same thing can be said about our spiritual walk, as well. How many of us have made little decisions that weren’t honoring to Christ? They may have seemed like small, inconsequential things at the time - miss a quiet time here, tell an off-color joke there, etc. Over time, these things add up, and we find ourselves asking “Where is God? Why can’t I sense Him here with me?” Guess what? God never moves - we do.

Now I’m not saying that you have to follow a bunch of rules and regulations, or God is going to disown you or something. We know that’s not the case - God’s grace, and his son’s death and resurrection is sufficient for us. What I am saying is how much more like Christ would we be if our desire to follow Him were followed by the discipline to actually learn what that meant?