Hello my sweet friends! Thank you for joining me today for the last of the negative influence traits- Undisciplined. If you remember back to our ninth positive influence trait we talked about being self-controlled. We talked about how it’s not about trying harder or doing better but about being controlled by God.
Well today we are going to talk about being uncontrolled- or undisciplined.
What is the best way to be controlled by God?
Well by building your relationship with him. Building the spiritual discipline of prayer, devotions and bible study are a great start but you can do all of those things and not practice the discipline of complete surrender you will not be controlled by God.(The Holy Spirit)
When we are uncontrolled (or undisciplined)….
We do whatever we jolly well please. We have no purpose we are pursuing and we run around doing “important-ish” things. Yeah they might be kinda important but they aren’t the most important. We have no rhyme or reason for our days and by the end of them we sit back and wonder where on earth did I go wrong. I didn’t get anything really important done.
Many times it’s all about what I want to get done. Yes it is way more fun to organize the craft room than fill out that important paperwork. Yes it might be way more thrilling to read that book than do my devotions…..and the list goes on and on.
Our lives are fulll and yes we might get away with a day or two or seven with neglecting those essential disciplines and playing “hooky” on life but it will catch up with us I promise.
Our homes become a disaster…..our attitudes become rude, harsh and impatient. We hurt people who care about us , because we have been so “me” focused. Sure we can fake it for a while but….
You cannot give what you do not have.
I cannot give the spiritual help to my family and friends if I am not firmly rooted in God’s word. It just cannot happen. You cannot give away a million dollars if you don’t first have a million dollars. You cannot share peace if you don’t have peace.
And if we don’t put these traits into practice in our everyday lives when big things come…as in trauma and discouragement we cannot pull from our reserves of what we have learned. It’s a big circle…when I practice Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, and gentleness we are self-controlled. and when we are self-controlled those traits listed about are how we are self-controlled. These are things that we are expected to practice every day.
Sorry we don’t get a pass.
Just because my personality isn’t very patient, it doesn’t mean I get to just say well God didn’t create me to be a patient person so therefore I don’t have to be patient.
Have you ever met a baby?
I have never met a patient baby. All baby’s are born with one focus…..Themselves. They cry when they are hungry, thirsty, have a dirty diaper, in pain, too hot, too cold, too tired and bored. But as parents we try to teach our babies as they grow into dodders the discipline of patience. Generally we fail. (or at least so we think).
And then we tackle it again when they are school-aged… sometimes every hour depending on what stage they are in.
Then they hit their teen years and it is a whole new level of patience
Oh and then they hit young adulthood and it seems like everything requires patience AND THEN this magical thing happens, an impatient young wife and impatient young husband give birth to perfectly impatient baby and the parents learn a whole new level of patience (The reality is NO ONE EVER FULLY ARRIVES).
The Life Cycle is the same.
One of the greatest things I have ever learned was the problems in parenting are always the same the situations just change and get bigger. Isn’t that the truth.
At 41 I am still learning and building the disciplines and traits of Galatians 5:22-23. I am still teaching them to my kids.
The circumstances get harder and sometimes scarier but if we keep building the foundations of these disciplines then they/we have the groundwork to keep growing in them.
BUT….
If we choose to not build those foundations for ourselves and our children, they and we will not be able to handle the bigger stuff as they get older. As life trials fly at us or those people who are harder to love come into our lives we will be unable to live as Christ did.
I reel at the thought of just how much self-control Jesus had…..I mean God is man’s flesh stood being falsely accused in an illegal trial, found guilty and sentenced to die one of the most cruel deaths ever dreamed up…..and he never said one word to defend himself. He could have struck them all dead. To quote the old song, He could have called Ten Thousand angels…..BUT he didn’t. Because he knew his purpose. He knew what had to happen.
When we choose to live a life of purpose…..
We choose discipline. We don’t lose sight of what is most important. We know God has a plan for us to be the hands and feel of Jesus to those around us. And because of that we choose discipline. We know that undisciplined, uncontrolled lives will leave us negatively influencing those around us.
Now it’s Your Turn.
What needs to change to make you more controlled by the Holy Spirit? Is it living a surrendered life? Is it committing to be devoted to God in Bible reading,Bible study or prayer? Maybe it’s an ongoing accountability with a friend who will help keep your attitude it check?
Whatever it is I challenge you to give it to God and work with Him through the challenges as you let him change your negative influence into a Godly influence.
Thank you again for doing me today! Check out these links below to catch up or if you are just beginning!
Write 31 Days 2018 Influence Posts
Choosing Courage 100 Day Writing Project
Write 31 Days 2021 Link up List. (Scroll to the bottom)
