Is Discipline overrated?

Last Sunday in church the topic of how God uses money in our lives was discussed. One of the ways that God uses money is to develop discipline.

How important is discipline and where does it come from?

We have all experienced the frustration of not having enough self-discipline to say: “we can’t afford to get pizza tonight; we can’t afford that vacation, or that car, or that house, etc”. And then we have faced the stress and financial consequences of spending money we do not have.

The Bible tells us in Proverbs 13:18: “Poverty and shame will come to him who neglects discipline, but he who regards reproof will be honored” Proverbs 19:27 says “Cease listening, my son, to discipline, and you will stray from the words of knowledge.” Good money management includes discipline.

But what makes the importance of discipline really interesting is what I heard a preacher say about 5 years ago. He said that the key to living for Christ boils down to discipline. He went on to say that living for Christ involves the discipline to do what the Bible says and not what the world, flesh and Satan make to look so appealing. This makes a lot of sense; we need discipline to follow God’s Word and not yield to temptations.

So how we handle our money is a teacher for how we are to walk with Christ. The next question is where does this much needed discipline come from?

Jogging or other athletic activities may be helpful in developing discipline. Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 9:24-27 and 2 Timothy 4:7-8 that strict training and disciplining of our bodies is important so that we can endure the rigors of being a follower of Christ.

But the heart of the answer how to develop self-discipline comes from submitting to the Holy Spirit. Galatians 5:22-23 says “the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace…and self control”. 2 Timothy 1:7 says: “For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline” (niv).

So we get discipline as a result of living a Spirit filled life.

If we see the lack of discipline in our lives such as impulse purchases, unpaid bills and an inability of getting our finances in order, we may need to look at our spiritual life. We probably will need to spend more time in God’s Word and more time in prayer and more focus on submitting to the Holy Spirit.

Discipline is not overrated. It is the key to handling our finances, the key to living for Christ and results from submitting to the Holy Spirit.