My View From the Catbird’s Seat
Spiritual Discipline
1 Corinthians 9:25 (ESV)
25 Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable.
It’s confession time. I might as well get it out in the open. We were flying back home after a wonderful vacation in Las Vegas and I was consumed with guilt. I had cheated. No, not on my wife. I would not do that. Not on my taxes. No, we are rendering unto Caesar over here. Not even at cards. They frown on that in Vegas. No, I cheated on my diet. Big time! It was not just once. It was several times.
A few years ago, I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. It was a well-earned diabetes. My not so secret love affair with Pop-tarts and Mountain Dew finally caught up with me. When the doctor showed me the numbers, they were dangerously high. He gave us a plan, and my wife and I went to work. All of my favorites were now off limits, or limited. I watched with great despair as a whole grocery bag of my life essentials walked out of our door in the hands of my nephew. My Pop-tarts, cookies, breakfast cereal, barbecue potato chips, gone, just like that.
A disciplined life was needed to overcome some real life issues. With the help of a determined wife and the Holy Spirit, we got to work. Thirty pounds came off of my six foot tall already slim one hundred sixty pound frame. I would look in the mirror and see a walking skeleton staring back at me. To be honest, it was quite disturbing. My doctor and the nutritionist assured me we were doing well.
After three months of hard work, it was time to get checked again. The numbers had dropped one hundred and forty points. I was still in the diabetic range, but out of the danger zone. I was ready to head back home and work even harder to get the number down another twenty points. I was ready to get out of diabetes. My doctor looked at me and said, “I can tell by the numbers you are serious about this. But don’t forget, you can have a cheat day every now and then.”
“Get thee behind me, Satan doctor. You are a hindrance to me!”
No, I didn’t say that. I took the news home to my wife and we allowed the occasional cheat day. I would have chocolate covered almonds. Two or three if Karen wasn’t watching. They were so good. I had a watered down cup of Coke at a baseball game. Nope, nope. We can’t do that. Too sweet. Pizza, two pieces every Friday. Yes I can do that. We have established the boundaries for our cheat day. Two pieces of pizza, dance, dance, dance. Three pieces and someone needs to roll me over. The carbs have taken over.
“Discipline, Allen. Discipline. Stay focused. We have a job to do.”
My next visit gave my doctor a smile. Four points. Four. That was all that stood between me and the diabetes line.
“If I can just avoid that occasional third almond, I know I can make it.”
My doctor laughed and said, “You really can take more cheat days.”
“Nope, nope, nope. My goal is in sight.”
My annual physical came around and I anxiously awaited the text message from my doctor. I had allowed myself a few extra cheat days. Now, I would see the damage.
I went to Hershey World with my grand kids and even built my own candy bar. That was vacation sugar. I don’t think that counts. Someone gave me a doughnut at work. You can’t hurt a doughnut giver’s feelings can you? There was the family holiday get-together. Karen made me get dessert. I’m sure that one doesn’t count. Still, the wait for my text message was excruciating.
Finally, there was the ding. My phone was telling me I had a text from my doctor. I took a breath and clicked on the text message.
“CONGRATULATIONS. GREAT JOB.”
I scanned the text. I found the line. I read the number. For the first time in two years, I was out of the diabetes category. I was right on the line between diabetes and prediabetic. One more chocolate covered almond and I would be diabetic. One more carrot stick and I would be under the line. I can hear my wife say “Allen, that’s not really how it works.” But here I was standing on Victory Mountain! I had made it.
As, “We are the champions, Weeee are the Champions. We are the Champions…..OF THE WORLD.” (Sorry Queen), played in my head, my phone dinged again. Just a few minutes after the victory text, another text came through. Not from my doctor. No, it was from a local ice cream place. Not just any ice cream place, no, “THE BEST ICE CREAM PLACE IN THE ENTIRE UNIVERSE” ice cream place!
“Today only, come in for our $1.52 single scoop cone special. TODAY ONLY.”
How did they know?
Suddenly, “Cheat Day” hit my brain. What better way to celebrate getting out of diabetes than with a Chocolate Fudge Brownie ice cream cone? I deserve it. I earned it. We had our grandsons with us. I am a good PopPop. They “NEED” ice cream. All in favor? “Aye!” Cheat day it is!
It was so easy to justify. I enjoyed my “Get out of diabetes” ice cream cheat day. It was so good.
It was also becoming much easier to cheat. Nothing major. Nothing bad. It was just easier and more frequent. Nothing like fresh fruit in the summer time. It’s wonderful. If we don’t go through the fast food drive through we will be late getting to our destination. You understand. Sometimes you just need a doughnut.
Once the goal was met, the focus and motivation lifted a little.
That leads me back to my confession. I cheated. It was bad.
We were on vacation visiting my daughter and son-in-law in Las Vegas. Gambling wasn’t the problem. Raunchy shows were not the problem. The problem was eating. I don’t think there was a salad in the whole state. There, I said it out loud, “I eat salad. I eat chicken. I eat vegetables.”
It all came to a head in a wonderful restaurant in the New York, New York casino resort. I had fish and chips. Not Jesus saying, “Come, sit down. Have a piece of fresh, broiled fish I have prepared for you.” No. This was the largest piece of heavy beer battered, grease dripping, feel your heart bogging down fish and chips. Don’t forget the deep fried onion rings.
It was wonderful. Take a bite. Wipe the grease off of your hands. Grab an onion ring. Wipe the oil off of your beard. “Let me have a couple of those fries.” There was no turning back. I had crossed a line and it was so good, until a little later. “Excuse me while the self-inflicted food coma sets in.”
Over the last couple of years, out of necessity, I have re-trained my body to follow a more useful diet. On vacation and family get-togethers, I allow myself to “cheat” a little. Too much, and I pay for it later. I’m sluggish, tired and grumpy. You get the idea.
Our Christian walk requires discipline.
Titus 1:7–9 (ESV)
7 For an overseer, as God’s steward, must be above reproach. He must not be arrogant or quick-tempered or a drunkard or violent or greedy for gain, 8 but hospitable, a lover of good, self-controlled, upright, holy, and disciplined. 9 He must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it.
Take a look at the word translated “disciplined”.
ἐγκρατής ĕgkratēs, eng-krat-ace´; from 1722 and 2904; strong in a thing (masterful), i.e. (fig. and refl.) self-controlled (in appetite, etc.):— temperate.1
Strong, masterful, self-controlled. I know Paul was addressing an overseer, but the scripture works for us as well. We need to exercise self-control.
Paul continues in the book of 1 Corinthians.
1 Corinthians 9:25–27 (ESV)
25 Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. 26 So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. 27 But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.
I don’t want to overwhelm us with Greek definitions, but one more. “Disqualified”.
65.13 ἀδόκιμοςb, ον: pertaining to having been proven worthless—‘of no value, valueless, worth nothing.’ 2
Now this does not mean of no value as a human being. When we leave discipline out of our Christian walk, we are pretty much “winging it”.
“Allen, God understands. I am doing the best I can, Allen. I don’t have time for prayer. I don’t have time to read the Word. I don’t have time to worship.”
I love you, but without the Lord in your day, you will never walk out the plans and purposes God has for you. You will never walk the walk of victory Jesus paid for.
Is missing one day of prayer, or one day of fellowship with the Lord going to send you to Hell? No, but I have found, the more you miss, the easier it becomes. I remember one time having a financial need and finally going to the Lord in prayer. I saw myself in a vision walking up to the Lord and saying, “Jesus, I need x amount of dollars. I don’t have time to fellowship with you, but if you help me this one time, I promise I will spend time tomorrow.” In my vision I heard the Lord say, “Allen, I am not an ATM, but if you will spend time with me, I can show you how to handle the situation you are in.” He has meet our needs many times, but the vision stuck with me. He wants time with us. I need to make my relationship with the Lord top priority.
David wrote in Psalm 63,
Psalm 63:1 (ESV)
1 O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you;
my soul thirsts for you;
my flesh faints for you,
as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.
The Hebrew word translated “earnestly” carries the understanding of “at dawn”. David saw the importance of starting his day in the presence of God. I see great wisdom in that. Before my day even begins, God has wisdom for me for the day. I heard a minister say when he first gets up in the morning, he grabs a cup of coffee and his bible. He reads the word and prays before breakfast. He said, “If I don’t feed my spirit, I’m not going to feed my body.”
Radical? Maybe, but in closing, look with me at Jeremiah 29:12-13.
Jeremiah 29:12–13 (NIV)
12 Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. 13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.
I need the wisdom and presence of the Lord in my day more than I need anything else.
Until the next time,
God Bless,
Allen
1 James Strong, The New Strong’s Dictionary of Hebrew and Greek Words (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1996).
2 Johannes P. Louw and Eugene Albert Nida, Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament: Based on Semantic Domains (New York: United Bible Societies, 1996), 621.