Disciplined Life > Disciplined Mind

In his book, The Disciplined Life, Richard Shelley Taylor writes, “Disciplined character belongs to the person who achieves balance by bringing all his faculties and powers under control. . . . He resolutely faces his duty. He is governed by a sense of responsibility. He has inward resources and personal reserves which are the wonder of weaker souls. He brings adversity under tribute, and compels it to serve him.”

I once thought that in order to act right, I must first think right. However, I’m now perceiving that right thinking sometimes requires outward discipline. That is, if I make myself keep a tidy house, my mind is less cluttered. (Believe me, it only makes sense when you try it.)

My devotional theme is self-discipline. From a person who totally relates to Gabor Maté’s book, A Scattered Mind, I’ve wondered if a disciplined mind was even possible. However, the older I get, the less able I am to manage jumbled thoughts. Simplicity is becoming more important. As I work to keep my spaces tidier and less packed with more stuff than I need, I’m starting to see the connection between that outward order and the inner order of a disciplined mind.

My husband is too. He went to work for a few hours yesterday (a national holiday) to clean up his email. He said that doing this job made him feel as if his mind was lighter, less burdened.

In Taylor’s quote, he stresses that all faculties and powers need to be brought under control. This is not easy. Before sitting down to my Bible, I read something that reminded me how all that I have is God’s and that I need to continually give all back to Him, rededicating all the powers of my mind and body, all my possessions and influence to His service. This reading included asking God to speak in my words and think in my thoughts.

My Bible verse is about being pressing on too. It tells me to be earnest and determined to please God. It is about wanting His approval, a Greek word that means an approval based on what remains after I am tested.

Be diligent to present yourself approved to God. . . . (2 Timothy 2:15)

Yesterday was a test (like every day is a test), but I didn’t use my time or energy in a way that was fruitful. Looking back, I had the mentality that just because it was a holiday, I let my self-discipline go on vacation too. Poor excuse. Self-discipline is a fruit of the Spirit. If I am filled with Him, it will be so natural that it just happens. Instead of being diligent, I was more occupied with goofing off. I know that taking a break and getting some rest might have been on His agenda for me, but I didn’t seek His will for the day and didn’t feel His approval at the end of it. The leftovers of yesterday’s test were meager indeed.

Another thing that I am learning is to be more sympathetic toward those senior Christians that I’ve criticized for “retiring” from spiritual life and growth and drifting into a worldly attitude, mostly one of complaining about their aches and pains. Being diligent is hard work. After years of it, the temptations to quit are greater, not less. As I’ve heard said, aging is not for sissies.

Yet even as I get older, God continues to call me to diligence. In the context of 2 Timothy, this is about studying His Word, but I know this call also fits the context of daily life and of pressing on toward the upward call of being like Jesus. He said, “Not my will but Thine be done” and wants me to be of the same mind.

Today that boils down to a very simple application. I need to tackle the tasks God has put before me and not allow myself to slack off unless He tells me to.