Discipline (Part I)

Oh the joys of discipline ~ I mean, really, who enjoys being disciplined?  Don't we all want to do, what we want to do, when we want to do it?  Let's face it, its not always fun having discipline, yet we all need it.  Because the reality is, "When you do the right thing, it always pays off."  At least that's Pastor Randy told us this morning in staff meeting, and he is much wiser than I and has the gray hair to prove it.  *** Side note *** I am so blessed to work with the staff at Bayside - what an incredible group of people, and an amazing leader in Pastor Randy.

1 Corinthians (9:23-27) (Gonna look at first two verses)

23 I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings.  24 Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. 

So Paul gives us the reason to live a "Disciplined" life.  In fact he sets it up in verse 23 "I do all this ... [to] share in its blessings.  In other words, I am gonna do all these things, because in doing so, I am going to have a blessed life.  And he begins to describe a race, and and the purpose behind it - "to get the prize" or the "blessing."  In other words, we need to have focus.


Paul is telling us to have focus.  If this is what I want, then this is what I must do in order to get it.  Start with the end in mind - if I want to get to Point A, what are the "disciplines" I must have to get there? All of us want to have a healthy marriage ... at least I haven't met anyone getting married just to have a court divide their assets (I'm sure that is a reality for some, but let's say it's atypical.)  But are we willing to do the things necessary to have a healthy marriage?  Are we (guys) continuing to "date" our wives ... courting them as we did when we were dating?  As I am writing this, I can see this coming back to bite me ... need a date night with Lisa pronto.  But it's true ... we allow things to take our "focus" off of the priorities we have said are important to us.  The same can be said of our finances ... everyone wants to have margin, but are we focused on the individual daily decisions that "pay off" in the end?

What areas in your life do you need to realign your focus?  As for me, I am currently looking for a babysitter for Friday night ... any suggestions?