It's not Joy vs Discipline

I was in the shower yesterday morning when a thought struck me. About the nature of discipline.

Discipline, you must admit, is absolutely essential for anyone to live a life that pleases God. The very word 'disciple' comes from the root word 'discipline'. And that's exactly what we're called to be. But, when have you ever been able to consistently do anything you didn't want to?

Joy and discipline are inextricably connected. You're disciplined in the areas that you believe lead to greater happiness, and you often enjoy the disciplines themselves. The guys in the gym cranking out their routine every day are there because, underneath the hard work, they love it. They love the gradual transformation of their bodies, and they probably enjoy much of the routine itself. There are hard, difficult days, but they know that their long term joy is routed in overcoming certain obstacles.

And I think the same must be true of the Spiritual Disciplines. We engage with God daily because we love it. Discipline is involved, but it is by no means the main ingredient. Our love of God is. And that leads to great joy.

I was in Bedford a few weeks back in a teaching session by Andrew Wilson. He was talking about the fight for Joy (which he's also taught at Kings previously: The Fight for Joy). One of his points was that we should discover what things increase our joy in the Lord and make a discipline out of them.

Just like the guys in the gym, it probably takes some hard work, perseverance and experimentation to find what really works for us. But when we get the thing going, engaging with God daily, our joy and the love of God are what fuels our efforts.