The Joy of Discipline

dis·ci·pline [dis-uh-plin] activity, exercise, or a regimen that develops or improves a skill; training. (from American Heritage Dictionary)

Wednesday February 21 begins the season of Lent, the 40 days (not counting Sundays) prior to Easter. Lent has traditionally been a time of fasting, prayer, and self denial, designed to help us remember and reflect upon Christ’s journey to the cross. One of the words that come to mind as I think about Lent is the word discipline, specifically spiritual discipline. To be a great athlete, or a great musician, or a great anything one must discipline the body and the mind. To be a follower of Christ, we must use spiritual disciplines to train ourselves.

Lent is best known as a time when people give something up. In the past years I have given up sweets, sodas, television, surfing the Internet and eating meat during Lent, just to name a few. While the discipline of doing without these things reminded me of Jesus’ sacrifice, it also seemed to leave a void. Jesus once told a story about an evil spirit leaving a person for a while only to return to find its former home ‘swept clean and in order.’ The spirit then brings an additional seven spirits so that the person is worse off than before! (Luke 11:24-26 NLT) The point of the story is that we can sweep our lives clean by letting go of habits, attitudes, and actions that do not help us get closer to God, but if we don’t replace those habits, attitudes and actions with disciplines that grow us in God's love we may find ourselves worse off than before.

That is where spiritual disciplines come in. Adding times of prayer, Bible reading, journaling, fasting, meditation, and acts of service to others can fill the void left when we give up the things that don’t help us grow spiritually. Regular practice of the spiritual disciplines can help us grow closer to Christ and to better love others. While it might seem daunting to try to begin each one of the spiritual disciplines this Lent, maybe we should just try to add one to our list. Perhaps a time of prayer to begin or end each day would be a good place to start. Or reading a passage or chapter of scripture each day and writing a few lines to God in a journal. Or each day doing something for someone who cannot repay you in any way might help remind you how much God’s grace blesses your own life. Maybe we might even try (gasp!) fasting from food one day a week. John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist movement, prescribed a fast each week from noon on Thursday to noon on Friday. My own experience with fasting has shown it to be a rich practice that reminds me ‘man does not live on bread alone'.

My hope and prayer for all is that the disciplines practiced during Lent, whatever they might be, would not come to a screeching halt on Easter morning but instead become lifetime practices as we seek to be followers of Jesus. May our joy on Easter be full because we dared to discipline ourselves to walk with Christ during the Lenten season.