Discipline

In my blog post Honest Prayer, the importance of having godly desires was emphasized. Since it is free to dream and desire things, we must dream big and desire for great things. We must think of big stuff not only for our own selves and families, but also for the church. The importance of having a vision or an ambition is captured by Steve Jobs: “If you are working on something exciting that you really care about, you don’t have to be pushed. The vision pulls you.” So without deep desires, great dreams, and clear vision, our lives may be like the journey of a driver going everywhere, until he runs out of gas, ending his meaningless journey. The writer of Proverbs is right: “Where there is no vision, the people perish” (Prov 29:18)

But having godly desires and dreams is not enough to guarantee success. Everyone has big dreams—for themselves and for the church—but those aspirations often times remain in Dreamland or Visionland. They do not materialize. So the question is a simple WHY? I suggest that what is missing is discipline (at least when we are talking about our human counterpart in the equation).

What is the role of discipline in our Christian life, particularly in relation to our desires and dreams? It is as simple as the way we respond to the alarm clock that goes off at 5:30AM. We desire and decide to wake up at 5:30AM. Because we really want to accomplish this, our determination compels us to set up an alarm clock. But at the end of all this, what matters most is not our desire to wake up or the act of setting up an alarm. What matters most is the discipline to rise from the bed and start our day when the annoying sound of the alarm rings. This is discipline.

We make big decisions and dream big dreams, but the question is: Do we have the discipline to achieve them?

People who are not able to do what they want to accomplish because of fear are people without will. In ancient thought, will is determined by the action accompanying a decision to do something. Someone is branded as possessing no will for failing to act on that which he or she has decided or intended to do. To be will-less is to desire to be with a girl, but possessing no guts to approach her. It is to desire to have a transformed lifestyle, only to be defeated and end in failure every day. It is like intending to read the Bible and pray every day, but always failing to do so. Lack of will and lack of discipline are first cousins.  

Often times we are like the apostle Peter. As we know, Peter is the most impulsive among the twelve disciples. He was the most outspoken and he would make big promises. With sudden outburst of emotions, he would say something extremely honorable. We read one of the examples in Mark 14:27-53. When Jesus said that the disciples would all fall away, Peter declared: “Even if all fall away, I will not.” When Jesus told him that he would deny Jesus before dawn, he insisted that he would never do such a thing: “Even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you.” All the other disciples said the same. But we all know that Peter and the disciples were not able to keep their promise even before day break. When Jesus was arrested, as recorded in Mark 14:43-52, Judas betrayed Him, and Mark says that “all of Jesus’ disciples ran off and left him. One of them was a young man who was wearing only a linen cloth. And when the men grabbed him, he left the cloth behind and ran away naked” (14:50-52).

Let us not be mistaken. It was not as if Peter had no intention to do what he said. He intended to stand by his word. He was passionate for Jesus. He said his promises with vigor and enthusiasm. In short, he really wanted to do them with all his heart and soul. But still, he failed when the opportunities to prove himself were right in front of him.

Discipline is not just simple will-power. It involves self-restraint, courage, and perseverance. Many lack discipline in their lives because they have lived a lifelong pattern of running away from trials, of avoiding difficult people and situations, of seeking the easy way, and of giving up when the going gets tough. The Scripture says, “If you falter in a time of trouble, how small is your strength!” (Prov 24:10). We all face trials and adversities. They come to us unexpectedly. They come to us in many forms. But it is precisely when the situation is tough that our faith and discipline are tested.

No matter how big the dream or how passionate we are about something, when we do not have discipline, all our aspirations mean nothing. No matter how wonderful our visions may be of the future, if we are not doing anything about it, because of the many hurdles in life, we will not accomplish anything. No matter how grand the desire is in our hearts of something big for ourselves and for God, without discipline, they will remain in our imagination. As Joel A. Barker once said, “Vision without action is merely a dream.” An anonymous writer also remarked: “Vision is not enough. It must be combined with venture. It is not enough to stare up the steps. We must step up the stairs.”

We can always create a long list of reasons why we should quit. We can always make excuses why we cannot achieve our dreams. We can always blame others for not helping us. We can always blame ourselves by looking at our poverty, weaknesses, and limitations. But at the end of the day, it is our discipline that really matters. As Stephen Curry, 2015 NBA MVP said, “Success is not an accident.” It involves hard work, perseverance, learning, sacrifice. Thomas Edison is right, and to paraphrase him, “Success is 1% inspiration, and 99% perspiration.

All the great men and women in the Bible were great not because they had grand desire or a big dream; they are known as great because they enacted, in faith and in the power of God, what they sought to achieve or do. Abraham wanted to be obedient to Yahweh, but the real test was on the way to Mt. Moriah and when he arrived there with his son Isaac (Gen 22:1-12). Caleb’s vision was to slay giants, but the real test was when he was in front of the giants (Josh 14:6-15; 15:13-19). David’s desire was to slay Goliath, but the real test was when he was with Goliath in the battle field (1 Sam 17:1-50). Paul’s ambition was to preach the gospel to the Gentiles, but the real test was when he was travelling (2 Cor 4:8-9). Jesus wanted to save the whole world from its sin, but the test was in Jerusalem (esp. Gethsemane and Golgotha). Jesus vividly portrays to us that in the face of danger, pain, and death, we can shrink back from even our most godly desire. At the Garden of Gethsemane we see Him torn between self-preservation and doing what He came to accomplish: “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will” (Matt 26:39, 42, 43).

We resonate very well with the experience of these great men. We struggle. But what the heroes of faith also show us is that it is possible to be victorious. Defeat is not the only option available. There can be victory. No matter what challenges come our way, we must cling to the vision God has given us and He will make a way for us. Paul says, “Run in such a way as to get the prize” (1 Cor 9:24). We must stand courageous. Whatever dream and desire God has given in our hearts, we are meant to be victorious. The promise for us is that “every child of God defeats this evil world, and we achieve this victory through our faith” (1 John 5:4, NLT). Like Paul, we must say “I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus” (Phil 3:14) and claim in faith, “I can do all this through him who gives me strength” (Phil 4:13).