It’s the turn of the New Year and as the weeks tick by, more and more people will find themselves moving out of conformity with their New Year’s resolutions, and settling for a life that requires less effort. The visions of a better life, a better body, and better finances are replaced with the lies that a person will never successfully make those kinds of changes. People convince themselves that they are being “realistic” or that they are seeing life more soberly.

It’s usually about this time that people say that they NEED MORE DISCIPLINE. After all, when we survey those in our world who are successful with their endeavors at personal change, they almost always give credit to a life of discipline.

So the person without such discipline almost always concludes that DISCIPLINE is the missing ingredient, and that if they had it, they would be as successful as anyone else. As if it was a personality trait or an aspect of ones being.

That’s a Big Mistake!

Discipline from a biblical standpoint is not a virtue or a trait that can be ascribed to a person. Discipline is a correction it is a reproof that sets us back on the right track. It comes from outside of us, not from within us. Maybe that’s why so many can’t find it–they are looking in the wrong place.

“Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but he who hates reproof is stupid.” Proverbs 12:1 

So if this is true, then it gives us insight into our reality with regard to personal change and our endeavors for a better life. It works like this:

At some point in our efforts to change we discover it is much harder than we thought.

We revisit those aspects of our life where we need to make better decisions (point of purchase, diet or drink, time to exercise, whether to floss or not, etc..) knowing full well that doing the same thing will not help us.

We are actually confronting TRUTH and our ability to BE WRONG (receive discipline/correction).

If we are humble and AGREE with truth, we make a different choice.

If we are stubborn and refuse correction/discipline, we repeat our folly.

Thus a disciplined life is really a by-product of two things:

1. Recognizing the TRUTH.
2. Being humble enough to TRUST IT.

So in essence we don’t have a weight problem, or a debt problem, or a motivation problem–We have a TRUTH problem–In that we don’t want to receive it or be seen as wrong.

If there is a God and the bible actually reveals what he is saying then it should be reliable to test this out in life. So try this out and see if it works.

At the moment of decision ask yourself: “What is the wrong thing I’m trying to change? and What is the right thing I’m trying to embrace?

Once you identify them, ask yourself:

“Am I willing to accept this correction and be changed by the outcome?”

If you answer “Yes” then you believe the correction is TRUE.

If you answer “NO” then you believe your present disposition is TRUE. Or you value your comfort far more than a better life–which means you are lying to yourself about wanting a better life because you really want comfort.

But since we already know the areas we need to change, this means we already know those areas of our life where we want comfort more than truth.

So why should we be suprised when we quit ourselves and any attempt to be better when we settle for lies.

I’ll bet you had no idea your resolutions were this THEOLOGICAL.

Now, if you are asking: “How can I change my motivation so that I want the truth?” Then prepare for an amazing life, because that is the furtile ground out of which comes the fullest life possible.

There is a sea of people who share this quest, and I’d love to be the first to welcome you to the family.