Real Biblical Men have Discipline

I decided that instead of tackling some of the smaller topics of my blog, I’d start with the one topic that I struggle with, probably more than anyone else reading this: Discipline. Now, you wouldn’t think that this would be a big deal to a college student like me. Many times we brush over it, but “Real Biblical Men Don’t Procrastinate” isn’t a blog I’m prepared to write yet….

What is discipline? No, I am not talking about when you were young and your dad pulled off his belt and put red whelps all over your behind. Punishment is not the form of discipline I am referring to in this case. The discipline I am talking about is Biblical Discipline. The best definition I could find was simply this: “Activity, exercise, or a regimen that develops or improves a skill; training.” Or, to put it in terms for this particular blog: “Activity, exercise, practice or a regimen that develops or improves one’s Biblical knowledge and strengthens their Faith and Witness.” Just like the Military has Basic Training followed by regular physicals and drills, so a Christian should be in constant training on the doctrines of his faith and sound Biblical teaching and prayer.

So, what does this look like from a practical standpoint? What things are really important and what things should you be spending less time on? Let’s dive in head first and see what’s what.

Real Biblical Men need to be in the Word of God daily.

Now, right off the bat I’m convicted. Ouch.

This is the single biggest thing I struggle with in my walk. I find it really, really hard to stay in God’s Word daily. I get busy, or I have homework, or want to play video games, or simply just do not want to read the Bible. However, this is one of the most important things Christians are called, actually commanded, to do.

Scripture speaks for itself, so I’ll let it remind us of the importance of getting into God’s word:

Psalm 119:9-11 says: “How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to your word. With my whole heart I seek you; let me not wander from your commandments! I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.”

Staying in the Word keeps us from sin. Staying in the Word keeps us on the path to righteousness. Joshua 1:8 says: "This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.”

Staying in God’s word creates success and gives us wisdom. Finally, 2 Timothy 3:16-17 says: “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.”

God’s word is the life force of Christianity. It is our guidance, the instruction manual for the difficulties of life. It is the foundation of Biblical discipline. In our quiet time, reading God’s word should be the main focus, and it is something to be done daily. Which brings me to my next point..

Real Biblical Men Pray Daily.

The most important thing humans do is communicate. We talk with one another thousands of times a day. In a relationship between a man and a woman the most important thing, the thing that keeps their relationship in working order is communication.

In my own experience, the single thing that can make a problem between me and Jennifer escalate at a pace I never imagined is simple lack of communication. In the same way, a relationship with Christ in which we do not have daily prayer is a dysfunctional relationship. Prayer is the way that we are able to come before a Holy God with our biggest and even our smallest issues and problems.

The greatest man to ever walk the earth, Jesus Christ, prayed constantly and was in direct connection with God the Father. As Real Biblical men, we should be in prayer daily as part of our quiet time in spiritual discipline. But prayer doesn’t just have to happen first thing in the morning during our quiet time, it needs to be a constant thought in our minds. Instead of the long wordy elder luncheon prayer, we need to think of it more as a conversation, asking an old friend for guidance and wisdom in situations that are out of your control.

Pray without ceasing, call on God, be quiet and listen for His answer, and it will benefit your walk greatly.

Real Biblical Men meet their deadlines and manage their time well.

Now we get to the second greatest struggle in my walk currently: discipline in my work and schoolwork, for the Glory of God.

As Christians, we rarely look at the things we do outside of Church as being things that God is concerned with. Often times, I find myself so worried about what I want to do in my down time after classes, that my homework takes a back seat to video games, outdoor activities, or even a nice long nap. Don’t get me wrong, nothing is wrong with these things, but when we let ourselves slide into the comfort of procrastination, we allow ourselves to fall behind in our work or schoolwork.

When we get behind, several things happen. First, we get really frustrated or stressed. Second, we tend to get an attitude with those around us. Finally, we make compromises and cut back on other areas of our lives in order to balance out the time we need to get caught up. For me, this means I often times sacrifice my time in God’s word and in prayer, for my homework that I procrastinated on all week.

This is bad. Really bad. What we are doing is cutting off our lifeline due to our lack of discipline and making it harder for us to hear God, because we are too busy with trivial things.

Hear me now: I’m not slamming video games or naps. They are two of my favorite things, and I don’t think God has a problem with either. I am simply pointing out that God has called us to draw close to Him and follow His will for our lives by honoring Him and performing the tasks set before us to the best of our abilities. We are not glorifying Him when we put them off until the last possible second and then use time set aside for Him to write a paper or put together an assignment.

Late assignments, lack of quiet time, a need for consistent prayer in our lives… I’m preaching to myself.

Sit on this for a while, and ask yourself, what are the areas of your life where you are letting your discipline slide? What corners are you cutting for that extra five minutes in bed or a few more minutes on the 360? God has called us to more!

The first step in answering that call is to quit cutting corners and take an inventory of what our priorities look like. Real Biblical Men have a quiet time that involves daily prayer and time in God’s word, and Real Biblical Men don’t cut corners. They see what they know has to be done, and they do it, no questions asked. That is true discipline. Something for all of us, me included, to think about.