Our global online tribe has taught me that the word DISCIPLINE, all by itself, can be a BARRIER to spiritual growth. You know, messing with our mind as something that is extremely difficult to practice and, therefore, a barrier that can keep us from growing spiritually and doing the work God wants us to do.
That got me thinking this morning about anchoring our January 2022 focus on spiritual discipline to what it means: BEING LIKE CHRIST.
It makes sense.
God tells us that our faith walk should be focused on BEING more like Christ and DOING less of what the world promotes.
“And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.” Luke 14:27
Early in my walk with God my mind convinced my heart that I knew everything about SPIRITUAL DISCIPLINE. But I had missed the focus on Christlikeness and its imperative to switch from DOING to BEING.
My approach to spiritual maturity was focusing on transactions (DOING)—praying, reading the Bible, tithing, fellowshipping with believers, and serving others through ministry.
Spiritual discipline is the means to Godliness, not the end. A person is not automatically Godly just because he or she practices the spiritual disciplines (God’s Word, praying, tithing, and fellowship).
How do I stay on track to BE more like Christ and DO less of what the world covets? Here are the five areas I continually revisit to focus more on being and less on doing:
SELF-WORTH
Satan works hard to deceive us into DOING things that flood our heart with discontentment instead of receiving God’s joy by BEING in Christ.
FEAR
Our level of fear and worry is determined by how much we believe that God is in control.
HOPELESSNESS
The more distance we allow to form between us and God, the more we will DO outside of his will to bridge the gap.
PAIN
Believers need to recognize that our pain is a disguised opportunity to BE like Christ and stop DOING like the world.
ANGER
It is extremely difficult to BE like Christ when we are angry. Unless we give our anger to God, we will be tempted to DO whatever the world says.
I ask God for the strength to never tire of putting forth the discipline it takes to elevate who I am in Christ over what I do in the world.
WHAT ABOUT YOU?
Are you consciously attempting to BE in Christ more than you DO in the world?
“In the unity of common faith, and knowledge of the Son of God, we arrive at real maturity–the measure of development which is meant by ‘the fullness of Christ.” Ephesians 4:13
