21 January | Youth
«Poverty and shame will come to him who disdains correction.» Proverbs 13:18
Discipline is the most valuable tool in the art of living. Whoever learns to manage it wisely will have a productive and blessed life. The opposite is also true. Those who do not develop discipline “fall into poverty and shame.” Most successful people are disciplined. They often pay the price for their achievements.
In general, we have the wrong idea about discipline. We think of it negatively, almost always making an association with its punitive aspects: children mistreated by strict parents, authoritarian rigidity or arbitrary orders given through shouting. If the concept we have was forged in an oppressive pattern, we will look at discipline as the enemy.
The successful person sees discipline with different eyes:
1. As an indispensable tool for shaping the state of mind. Discipline makes a person responsible for commitments. They do what needs to be done, even when they do not feel like it.
2. As a tool that helps control emotions. A disciplined person does not allow feeling to dominate them. Does not react according to the pressure of the moment.
3. As a tool that helps manage time. Those who act like this seem to lead life at a slower pace. In fact, people like this have control of their schedule and decide in advance what they are going to do with their time, while the majority are running around desperately without time to reflect, contemplate and live.
4. As a tool to manage money well. A disciplined person is not desperate to obtain more financial resources. They have learned to do more with less and produce with less effort. From an early age, they learned to save. “There is desirable treasure, and oil in the dwelling of the wise, but a foolish man squanders it” (Prov 21:20).
5. As a tool to take diligent care of their health. If you allow it, life will demand more energy from you than you have. But those who take care of themselves physically can do more and enjoy their achievements.
Discipline helps organize life in the direction of success. The Lord can help you live a more disciplined life. Ask God for help to live in the best way possible. Submit to His will, and He will help you have the discipline you need.