1 Corinthians 10:21 KJV

Today's daily devotion was about discipline.

It was based upon 1 Corinthians 10:21: "But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway." KJV. Thanks to my African American study bible I know that the ninth chapter of 1 corinthinans is a sermon by Paul entitled "Am I not free?" This sermon is Paul's discussion of his life as an apostle of the Lord.

Basically, Paul is saying that self-discipline is required in order to be a teacher/apostle/or preacher. It is necessary to understand yourself, not just your flesh and blood, but your spirit and what is needed to keep it "in line" or disciplined for such a role (leadership) as an apostle would have.

I will be the first one to admit that one of my biggest personal faults is a lack of self-discipline. I am the World's Best Procrastinator and we all know that "procrastination is the thief of blessings" (shouts to vicky free and wanjiku!). I have been giving mself exercies and training opportunities to become better at self-discipline. I believe that my latest attempt, a firm regulation of my diet and implementation of regular exercise has been my most successful to date. I am proud of myself, however, I know that the harder and more important task will be adapting this practice of self discipline into my spiritual life. I am making the attempt with reading a daily devotion. We shall see where that has me in the coming months.

I guess this graduate school thing has got me growing a little bit.

The image above is called, AKOKO NAN, which literally means "the leg of a hen". The meaning is really in regards to parental discipline, along the lines of "spare the rod and spoil the child." However, in theory, it is an Akan representation of discipline.