If you want to know about discipline, this fall just as the high school football season is wrapping up, go down to your local high school, see if they have a wresting program, and then check it out. Not just watch a practice, but discuss the daily habits of their very best.  You generally will find that stringent control is placed over every calorie eaten, drop of water drank, and miles ran in the life of a winning wrestler.  To win the battles through the season and claim the championship at the end, the wrestler has to maintain the highest level of discipline.

I wrestled.  I wasn’t the best.  Actually I wasn’t very good at all.  There were areas of the disciplines where I excelled though.  I could pull weight with the best of them.  I guess that talent might come in handy if I was on the “Biggest Loser” show, but no awards are passed out in wrestling for that.  I was also a master in the discipline of not getting pinned.  (It’s O.K. you can laugh.)  Serious pain, contortionist positions, and the temptation to just give up were my foes and I was disciplined, usually, enough to not surrender.  Getting up early to run many miles and spending hours working on all the moves were not so much my disciplines.  Regrettably those disciplines were the most important to winning and not just surviving.

What could have been if only…?

That was the kind of disciplined wrestler I was.  It would be easy to make excuses and say, “That is just who I am.” “That is just the way I am wired.” “I am just better at some disciplines than others.” Or “Maybe they should give awards for ‘not getting pinned’.”  No, I have to face facts.  I didn’t get the victories because there were disciplines lacking.

As an aspiring disciplined pastor, “that is just the way I am” is not acceptable.  Christ died, rose again, and sent his Spirit so that I can be better than

“just who I am,” but who he wants me to be.  We are called to be better than ourselves.