Trained by His discipline

The second reading at Mass today really spoke to me, and I wanted to share some of my reflections here.

Hebrews 12:5-7, 11-13:

"Brothers and sisters,

You have forgotten the exhortation addressed to you as children:
“My son, do not disdain the discipline of the Lord
or lose heart when reproved by him;
for whom the Lord loves, he disciplines;
he scourges every son he acknowledges.”
Endure your trials as “discipline”;
God treats you as sons.
For what “son” is there whom his father does not discipline?
At the time,
all discipline seems a cause not for joy but for pain,
yet later it brings the peaceful fruit of righteousness
to those who are trained by it.

So strengthen your drooping hands and your weak knees.
Make straight paths for your feet,
that what is lame may not be disjointed but healed. "

When I heard this reading, I thought about the word "discipline" both in the sense of "being disciplined", but also in the sense of "growing in discipline." I must admit that by nature, I am not a very disciplined person. Case in point, my blog is updated, not multiple times a week as I had set out to do, but on a whim, when the spirit moves me. I know that discipline is something that I need to grow in, but unlike some people who have a penchant for creating order and discipline in their life that they might achieve specific daily goals, I have often viewed the virtue of discipline as stark, challenging, and just plain boring.

One of the phrases that really stuck out to me in this passage was the phrase about being "trained" by discipline. Discipline certainly is a training - it's strengthening your will to choose the good; it is a slow process, wherein which we train ourselves, and allow God to train us to follow His ways which often means denying ourselves instant gratification. The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines discipline as "training that corrects, molds, or perfects the mental faculties or moral character, and also "control gained by enforcing obedience or order orderly or prescribed conduct or pattern of behavior."

It means saying yes to that which makes us better people, and saying no to that which tears us down. It is these little decisions, this specific framework, that shapes that pattern of our character through a gradual process.

The reason that this line really spoke to me is that it was an encouragement to me in perseverance. Often times, when we are in the middle of learning a specific discipline, whether physical or spiritual, and training ourselves to act or respond in a certain way, it is pure drudgery and often times, even painful. In the midst of the moment, all we see is how uncomfortable we are, or even the pain that we are experiencing. For example, when an athlete is running sprint after sprint, ready to keel over from exhaustion, it's hard for him to see the larger picture - the way that this is making him a better player.

photo by wwarby

He just knows that he is out of breadth and incredibly sore. It's not until days, months, or years down the road, that he realizes how those hours of grueling running drills helped him win the championship game. Later, after the most trying moments of learning this discipline, does the person recognize and experience in a profound way, that peaceful fruit of righteousness. Basically, to be able to endure and develop discipline, a person must have the eyes of faith. They must have the faith to trust that their decisions of self-denial will help form them into a better person, even if one is distracted by the pain of the moment rather than the success of the outcome.

About 7 weeks ago, I embarked on the discipline of eliminating sugar and chemical sweeteners out of my diet. I decided to do this for health reasons, and while it was something that I had contemplated for awhile, meeting with a nutritionist who also recommended this dietary change motivated me to actually take the plunge and whole-heatedly make the change. Although I am feeling so much better after eliminating sugar out of my diet and noticing vast improvements in my health, it's not to say that they process and the commitment has been easy. In fact, it's been really hard at times. But then I am reminded that the result of this discipline will inevitably be better health, and that is so much more important and satisfying than momentary gratification.

Because of this new commitment in my life, I especially liked the closing line of this passage, "Make straight paths for your feet,
that what is lame may not be disjointed but healed. " Sometimes, it's difficult to make these straight, narrow paths through discipline. But it is only through this discipline that we will be healed, be it body, mind, or soul.

What a beautiful vision the Lord gives His children in this passage. And I am certain He gives us the grace in abundance too.