CHAPTER 12
DISCIPLINE
Discipline means ‘trained to obedience’. Disciple means one training to be obedient to another or a teaching. Each involves bringing the body and mind under control to accomplish a task at hand, whether it be learning or teaching, whether it is something that we like or dislike. There are times as a leader when you will be called upon to do things that you do not like, things that you do not want to do, things that by their very nature bore you or irritate you or upset you.
These are the things we tend to put off and postpone till another time, in the hope that the Lord will miraculously solve the problem or that it will magically disappear or better still, He sends someone to do it for you. We all wish the painful jobs would become someone else’s headache. Most times, however, this does not happen and sooner or later we find ourselves having to do those awful, tedious, sometimes teeth grinding and heart wrenching things.
How much discipline must it have taken for Abraham to place his son, Isaac, upon the altar as the ultimate evidence of his faith? With each step his brain must have been screaming at him to turn around.
How much discipline was required of the whole nation when Ester called on them to neither drink nor eat for three days before she confronted the king with Haman’s deceitful tactics in trying to rid the land of the Jews, knowing that her audacity could cost her life. What of Jephthah and his promise to sacrifice the first thing that came out of his tent if he was successful in his campaign against the Ammonites. To see his daughter emerge must have ripped his heart apart but discipline prevailed and he kept his promise to the Lord.
We tend to think of discipline as a fleshly thing, of bringing the flesh under control, but it is more than that, more than overcoming the desires of the flesh, more than a battle of wills against lust and pleasure, discipline also entails the conquering of our thoughts, of bringing the mind into subjection:
Commit thy works unto the LORD, and thy thoughts shall be established. (Prov.16:3)
For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh:
(For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;)
Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;
And having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled. (2Cor. 10:3-6)
Each action or thought is guided by a moral code and must be judged accordingly. As Christians our code is the Word of God, and by the Word we will judged. Each thought must be brought under the control of the Word, each idea subjected to its critique, and to do this we must know what the Word says about each subject, each action and each relationship. It takes discipline to get up early each morning to read your Bible, it takes discipline to set aside time in a busy schedule to pray, it takes discipline to seek God and His guidance for all that you do and think.
Many do physical exercises daily, which is great for disciplining the body, but the ultimate discipline is control over the mind, keeping the mind in check, keeping the mind focused on what needs to be done – ‘breaking through the wall’ of distractions.
The norm for bringing mind and body to order in Biblical times was fasting, a decisive act of purposefully going without food or water for a given period of time so as to be totally focussed on a problem and its solution, with the aim of seeking answers and the steps that to be taken to address that problem:
False witnesses did rise up; they laid to my charge things that I knew not.
They rewarded me evil for good to the spoiling of my soul.
But as for me, when they were sick, my clothing was sackcloth: I humbled my soul with fasting; and my prayer returned into mine own bosom.
(Psalm 35:11-13)
On one occasion David found himself surrounded by enemies, by those who sought his downfall and his throne and were prepared to lie and cheat in order to achieve their own ends, and as king, it would have been easy for David to react violently, to do the same as his enemies, to allow anger and frustration to get the better of him.
But, rather than seeking revenge, David would, whenever his enemies were sick or under duress, clothe himself in sackcloth as a sign of mourning and sympathy. He would fast so that his thoughts would not be distracted by joy at the plight of his enemies during their suffering. His thoughts would be brought under control and any evil desires or intentions would be taken captive. It takes discipline to pray for your enemies and not to glory in their suffering. (Matt. 5:43-48)
Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head. (Rom.12:20)
Nehemiah too fasted before he approached the king with his request to rebuild Jerusalem’s walls. (Neh.1:4) Moses fasted for forty days while receiving the Law from God. Jesus, before He embarked on His ministry was led out into the wilderness to fast for forty days. Noah disciplined himself for one hundred and twenty years while building the ark. How many would have that course?
Leadership requires discipline. It is so easy to become afraid or angry or upset by something done by someone over whom you have authority or even one of your superiors, so easy to do or say something that you could later regret, but if your mind is trained and disciplined not to react, but rather to take those thoughts captive, to guide them in the right direction, to concentrate on the current issue and not the unimportant stuff, to focus on the goal and not the side-lines, then you are and remain in control.
A lot of people feed on reaction, seeking to unsettle others by their words and deeds, hoping to create an incident or get a bad reaction, knowing that such a result will fuel and strengthen their cause – guard against it. Disciplining oneself is not a thing to be done before other men. It is your battle against yourself, for yourself:
Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.
But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face;
That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly. (Matt. 6:16-18)
Whatever form your disciplining takes, whether it is fasting or praying, reading or exercise, rising early or working later, keep at it, do not give up because the rewards speak for themselves. All the biblical characters I have mentioned achieved enormous success in their work.
A godly leader does not need the approval of men, does not do things to please and impress men. Discipline is the placing of one’s own body on the altar of sacrifice to achieve that which you set out to do. No one else can do it for you.