| April 18, 1999 |
Vol. I, No. 51
|
"The most valuable result of all education is the ability to make yourself do the thing you have to do, when it ought to be done, whether you like it or not. It is the first lesson that ought to be learned and however early a person's training begins, it is probably the last lesson a person learns thoroughly." --Thomas L. Huxley
I know Huxley was right. My parents tried to teach me self-discipline, but I'm still learning it.
Success requires self-discipline. The student, the athlete, and the business man must all cultivate the habit of controlling his mind, habits and emotions.
Paul compared the Christian to an athlete who must commit to rigorous training to compete in the Olympics. "But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I preached to others, I myself should become disqualified" (I Cor. 9:27, ).
The Mind
It takes discipline to control what you think. We are commanded to think on things that are true, pure, honorable, just, lovely and of good report. However, this doesn't happen accidently. It takes work. It requires our constant attention to what we are reading and watching.
Habits
People who smoke have told me they want to quit, but can't. Why? Lack of self discipline. All habits, good or bad, can be traced back to discipline or the lack of it.
It requires great effort to break old habits or acquire new ones. The habit of Bible study, prayer, or even regular attendance demands self discipline.
Emotions
Too often we say or do something that we regret, but justify it by saying, "I couldn't help it." While it may be difficult to refrain from improper words or actions, it is possible.
The first man to climb Mt. Everest, Sir Edmund Hillary, once said," It is not the mountains we conquer, but ourselves." Dear God, help me climb and help me conquer. Amen.
--Ken Weliever
In Matt. 9:35-38, the apostle Matthew records the beginning of Jesus' third preaching tour of Galilee. "And Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people. But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd. Then He said to His disciples, 'The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.'"
Let us take note of a few outstanding facts presented by this passage of Scripture. First, note that Jesus loved the people of Galilee, the area where He had grown to manhood. He had toured their villages and preached in their synagogues before, and had previously been rejected by many of them, but because He loved them so, He came back, preaching again. Sometimes when we persist in sin, we ask ourselves why our parents or our friends or others don't leave us alone. The most likely answer is that they love us too much to not continue to try to help us. At least that is why Jesus kept coming back to Galilee with His message of love.
Next, we might note, that unlike many in our own times who claim to be vessels of Divine healing power, Jesus never failed. Most of the so-called "faith healers" of our day exercise a great degree of control over those who are allowed to come to them to be healed --and they still are not able to heal many of them, supposedly because of a lack of faith on the part of the "patient." Jesus, on the other hand, came "healing every sickness and every disease among the people," and Jesus never failed.
But even though Jesus was moved to compassion by the physical ailments of the people, He was touched even more by their need for spiritual guidance. "He was moved with compassion... because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd."
It was this spiritual problem that Jesus actually came to solve. While it is true that many people are currently satisfied with their sinful lives and disinterested in things of a spiritual nature, it is also true that many are reaching out for spiritual help. They are groping for, hungering for a better knowledge of God. Even many of those who have convinced themselves that they do not have time for God and for spiritual matters are yet aware of an emptiness within. They, too, are seeking for God, but often do not know that is what their hearts are longing for. It is with awareness of these two groups -- one consciously and one not so consciously seeking God and His blessings, that Jesus instructed the apostles to pray. Pray that God will provide more leaders, more teachers. "The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few."
--CRJ