Have you ever been going strong in a certain discipline only to slow down in that thing, and before you know it, you’ve stopped doing it altogether? Perhaps you set some goals, and were temporarily motivated by those goals, but somewhere along the way you decided or realized that the discipline required for you to reach your goals was not nearly as attractive as some alternative.

Whether that alternative was certain foods, extra sleep, leisure time, a thing, or a person, your alternative(s) beat out your discipline.

It’s as if the two were in a boxing ring, and The Alternative knocked out Discipline.

If historically, you’re not very disciplined in a certain area, then in your ring, Discipline was the underdog fighting against an intimidating champion called The Alternative. There was no Rocky story here. Discipline got knocked the heck out!

If you’re used to being disciplined in a certain area, but recently have been regressing, then in your ring Discipline was the favorite who got knocked out by The Alternative, the underdog.

Whether you got knocked out by many jabs over time or in an instant by a strong right hook, discipline lost, and your goals were not met.

In order for you to reach your goals, in all circumstances discipline must win. And, in order for discipline to win, discipline must be most valued by you and become extremely attractive to you.

Discipline must become attractive to you, like the best looking woman/man you’ve ever seen.  The alternative must become unattractive to you, like Jamie Foxx’s “I’ll rock your world” Wanda character (You remember…the one who made Dracula jump out the window into daylight!).  

Discipline must become to you like a Ritz Carlton. The alternative must become to you like a dusty & roach infested motel (you know…the kind that triggers allergies you were previously unaware of!).

Discipline must become to you like finding a cool bottle of Figi Water on a hot day! The alternative must become to you like stumbling through an arid desert, panting for a mere drop water, and discovering that the Figi Water you just found was just a hallucination!

Discipline must be what we passionately desire. The alternative must be what we utterly despise and reject.

Forget about your goals for a minute and just think about these two things: Discipline and the alternative.

Do you love discipline? Can you get with routine? Does your potential gain outshine your potential pain?

Proverbs 25:28 warns us that, “A man without self-control is like a city broken into and left without walls.”

In other words, when you lack discipline and self-control, you will be violated, and you will be exposed/vulnerable.

Proverbs 6:6-8 encourages us, “Go to the ant, O sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise. Without having any chief, officer, or ruler, she prepares her bread in summer and gathers her food in harvest.”

As sophisticated and accomplished as humans are, we still have something to learn from a simpler creature such as an ant. This passage addresses us as the sluggard, which means a habitually lazy person. In contrast is the ant, who is habitually disciplined. We are challenged here to humbly put our minds to work and “consider her ways” in order to be wise. The context is of how an ant, without external discipline (no chief, officer, or ruler), disciplines herself (prepares her bread) during the summer (a comfortable time often associated with rest, relaxation, and vacation) and during harvest (a time of opportunity).

The writer continues in verse 9: “How long will you lie there, O sluggard? When will you arise from your sleep?”

We are challenged to arise from our sleep.  Implied is that we are not awake, or as wise and disciplined as we can be.  The purpose of this passage is to challenge & inspire us to grow in discipline, that our lives might glorify God.

I encourage you to pause for a few moments (following this sentence) and allow God to shine a light on where He wants you to grow in discipline.

Lord, You have sent Your grace upon us with summers and harvests. We repent for our sluggard-ness. May we be wise, set right goals, love discipline, & arise from our sleep. By Your grace, we are already victorious!

Live the life.