<\/p>\n
\u201cBut I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified\u201d (1 Corinthians 9:27).<\/p>\n
IT\u2019S HEALTHY TO DO SOMETHING EVERY DAY THAT WE REALLY DON\u2019T WANT TO DO \u2014 JUST FOR THE EXERCISE. There is a great benefit in practicing<\/em> the art of self-discipline, that is, engaging in it regularly just for the sake of building our mental muscles.<\/p>\n When Paul said that he \u201cdisciplined\u201d his body and brought it into \u201csubjection,\u201d he spoke of something that requires a bit of unpleasantness from time to time. By its very nature, training requires us to get out of our comfort zone. If we never call upon our \u201cmuscles\u201d to do anything more than what they want to do, then we never gain the ability to do anything more than that. It\u2019s just that simple. And so we ought to look for opportunities to do things that we don\u2019t want to do. It\u2019s one good way that we grow.<\/p>\n Have you ever watched someone \u201cexercising\u201d? Many of the bodily movements by which strength and agility are developed would be ridiculous if we did them for any reason other than training or exercise. Take sit-ups, for example. There is only one reason to do sit-ups: to make your abdominal muscles do things they don\u2019t want to do. No one would ever do it for any other reason except training . . . practice . . . exercise . . . discipline. When you do sit-ups, you\u2019re demonstrating that you grasp one of life\u2019s great principles: there is value in doing things that don\u2019t want to be done.<\/em><\/p>\n Nothing is more valuable than to have our faculties \u2014 mental and spiritual, as well as physical \u2014 trained and ready to respond to important needs. But having faculties that will respond to important needs is not something that happens overnight or without any effort. When the big tests of life come along, we won\u2019t be ready for them if we haven\u2019t been training for them before then. So today, if there\u2019s some unpleasant little duty that could easily be procrastinated, do it just because you don\u2019t want to. Take that little opportunity to put the flesh in its place. Teach your body to take orders from your spirit. Someday, you\u2019ll be mighty glad you did.<\/p>\n \u201cKeep the faculty of effort alive in you by a little gratuitous exercise every day. Be systematically ascetic or heroic in little unnecessary points. Do every day or two something for no other reason than that you would rather not do it, so that when the hour of dire need draws nigh, it may find you not unnerved and untrained to stand the test\u201d (William James).<\/p>\n Gary Henry \u2013 WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.com<\/p>\n