One of my traps is mental cynicism & negativity. I’m not sure why, and it hasn’t been for my whole life, but it happens. I work through it and have a counselor I talk to. I call him my best friend because he lets me talk and talk and asks all kinds of questions and is super interested in me, hardly talking about himself!
Also, he has a great beard.
My best friend and I are working on this and I’m learning about my soul. It’s been great and I really think I’ve got a handle on things by being mentally & emotionally disciplined.
Recently, I was at a great church service. God moved. God spoke. God encouraged me.
The service ended and I went home and went to bed. By the next morning though, I found myself heading back down the same negative & cynical mental path.
As I had previously asked my best friend on numerous occasions, . . .
Why is it so difficult to sustain a positive experience like what I had?
Why can we not bottle the wherewithal we find in moments of inspiration and always take those with us?
Why is it so easy to slip into the things we try so hard to avoid?
Paul said it another way. “For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing” (Romans 7:19).
Essentially, Paul tells us (and I can confirm), left to our own devices, we will not make the right choices. The good news is though, Jesus brings with Him the capacity to make the right choices.
But we must work in tandem with Him as His Spirit & presence does not disable our freedom of choice . . . even after accepting Him as savior.
So, let’s talk about the benefits of discipline.
Self-discipline CAN be contagious from one area of life to another . . . if we are (Yesterday’s Word of the Day) INTENTIONAL with it. Here’s my suggestion.
Do something that stinks each day.
It could be taking the trash out even though it’s raining.
It could be getting up early to go to the gym even though it’s your off day.
It could be doing the laundry even though you really could put it off another day or two.
It could be immediately having that difficult conversation with an employee at work.
The point is to find something that your body wants to avoid and telling it “No, we’re doing this”.
Thoughts to Pray/Journal:
- What are some things, unrelated to pornography, that you could be more disciplined about?
- Is there a signature mental path that you head down when you’re not at your best? What are you doing about that?
Reading: