Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Disciplined, Diligent Duty- Day 12- Proverbs 12

The thought provoking aphorisms continue and I have added a few more categories to my list:

discipline- the honorable vs the unruly wife- violence and cruelty- trustworthiness

Let's investigate discipline for a minute- this is the root of discipleship. The gospel is great news of grace- but the fruit of grace is restraint and respect of God ordained boundaries. A key fruit of sanctification is discipline and we learn discipline by being disciplined. The earlier this starts, the easier it is to become a habit.

Our culture of ease and comfort is less disciplined. I remember clearly looking over some of my grandfather's handwriting and noticed how clear and clean it was- those things were drilled in those days. Even though I have greatly grown in self discipline over my adult life, I do not consider myself a disciplined person. Part of that is never being in the military and being in a culture that loves luxury.
A good spring cleaning is a good place to start. We have our home on the market right now and are having to keep it it 'spit shine' shape everyday- but it has helped all of us to do so.

A key to discipline is the diligence to DO IT NOW. It also, for someone like me, takes help. I need someone to help me in the areas that I need to grow.

I love verse 3- "No one is established by wickedness, but the root of the righteous will never be moved."
In our fast paced, instant society- we admire the energy packed rise of the ruthless. I see it in coaching all the time. We are so hungry to win and win now, that we take the fast track- not realizing that the energy from what I call 'the black hat' sometimes has a quick rise and sudden fall.

Doing it right sometimes means slow and steady- but the roots are deep and the fruit comes for a long time. A great Biblical analogy is the root of Jesse- if you cut it down, the bud will show and the tree will regrow.

There is a lot about speech here: our words are to be true and few. We must be willing to hold secrets- that is an area I have progressed in, but we all need to get better in this society of whispers and innuendo.

There is a lot here to take to heart!

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