Discipline and obedience are two sides of the same coin, and frankly, there are not many coins bearing the imprint of these two qualities in our pockets and purses these days. We like the fruit of both. Women admire the slim figure which has been gained through rigorous exercise and careful dieting, and men certainly wish they had the rippling muscles of a weightlifter or the prowess of a football linebacker. Instead their bulging waistlines testify to the reality that they can’t say no to junk food, and if they do exercise, they park as close to the gym or fitness center as possible. Convenience, you know.
The word obedience seems to smack of dependence, of losing your independence or not thinking for yourself, or certainly of not being in control. Anything that causes us to lose control seems to stick in the craw of the human race. It always has, but in the last generation, knuckling under–whether to be at school on time, work the required number of hours, pay taxes honestly and justly, or have nothing that you prefer to keep secret from your husband or wife–is difficult, if not impossible, for most of us.
We admire those who do have discipline in their lives–the Olympian who trains for years, rising early when it is cold and dark to go to the ice arena or gym; the arctic explorer who pushes the limits of survival, braving the bitter edge of endurance; the mountain climber who pushes on towards the top, his oxygen depleted and his muscles burning with fatigue; and the struggling merchant who refuses to quit and eventually makes it over the top. We all want to be like that. Who wouldn’t like to see his face on the Wheatie’s box of champions, or on the cover of Sports Illustrated, or on Women’s Weekly, if you are female?
So why don’t we have more who make it to the top? The price is just too great. The path of obedience is painful instead of joyful, and the discipline necessary to achieve is lacking. True, we’ll take the shortcut if that will work. Bring on the steroids to build muscle or the pill guaranteed to make you slender.
Victory gained with purloined currency is always shallow and tentative, and the possibility of discovery always hangs over the head of the one who cheated and lied his way to the top. Athletes who are forced to return the gold carry the stigma with them forever, no matter how many gainfully won medals they may acquire.
God expects no less than the world does when it comes to winning or reaching the top. The same miasma of thinking which has infected us in the past few decades also creates spiritual pygmies who know the language and wear the costume fairly well but lack the stamina and courage to go the distance. Explaining why his fair-weather companions had quit and gone home, Paul wrote to Timothy, "Demas, because he loved this world, has deserted me and has gone to Thessalonica. Crescens has gone to Galatia, and Titus to Dalmatia" (see 2Timothy 4:10). Paul, on the other hand commended Timothy to the Philippians, saying, "I have no one else like him, who takes a genuine interest in your welfare. For everyone looks out for his own interests, not those of Jesus Christ" (Philippians 2:20,21).
God’s standard is unchanging. Never forget that discipline and obedience are inseparable for anyone who gets to the top. - Resource reading: 2 Timothy 4
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