Disciplining the Body

 September 4, 2024

Wednesday

Someone comes to church and publicly comes forward saying that he or she wants to repent of what has been done in the past and wants to fully commit to following Christ. Great, huh?

The question is not whether they are serious or whether they are sincere. The question is whether or not he or she will be able to keep that commitment. Most don't.

Consistency is the hardest part of a commitment to Christ. Sure, we do not lose our salvation but our intimate relationship with Him erodes as we slowly forget our commitments. We get too busy to have a quiet time. We have an unexpected bill and don't tithe. We are distracted by what we are doing so that we don't share Christ with anyone. We miss church attendance one week this month, two weeks next month and only make it one Sunday a month for the next six. Even when we remain consistent with our church attendance our relationship with the Lord slowly cools. We become "Sunday only" Christians. Let's face it: this is the bane of our Christian faith. We must be more consistent.

The Apostle Paul would write:

1 Corinthians 9:26–27 (ESV) ²⁶ So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. ²⁷ But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.

Paul knows that he could lose the rewards that are stored up for him if he is not consistent in his faith. He doesn't want to be disqualified from these rewards. He, therefore, focuses on what he must do. He disciplines his body because it is with his body that he acts. If he is to have a quiet time, he will do so with his body. If he is to witness, tithe or do anything else with the Lord, he will do so with his body. It will be his body that neglects to do what he should. Note that this can happen even after preaching that others ought to live for Christ. Knowing what to do isn't the problem. Doing what we need to do consistently is the problem. 

When God spoke to Cain, He said:

Genesis 4:7 (ESV) ⁷ If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is contrary to you, but you must rule over it.”

Sin is always crouching at the door. We should be well aware of this. So, what do we do?

We make it a point of having tomorrow's quiet time the day before. We prepare by going to sleep when we should so that we can get up early enough to have the quiet time. Organize your day at the end of the quiet time. Don't wait to do this later or it will slip away from you. Make sure that you act on your plans. Though you won't lose your salvation if you fail, make sure that you repent if you do fail. Start again, and keep it up.

Nearly everyone who reads this knows that we all have a tendency to wander. Let's do our best for our Lord.