Instead, I discipline my body and bring it under strict control, so that after preaching to others, I myself will not be disqualified.
The discipline of our body covers so many areas and is of increasing importance as we mature and age. What we think, see, hear and say all fall within this command to discipline. What we eat and drink and the quantity thereof also are impacted. The desires we indulge when we are young become intense cravings as we age; thus, it is critical that we discipline our bodies to desire what will benefit us into eternity and what clearly brings glory to God in our lives.
Desire was built into us by God and serves a critical purpose in our lives; however, no desire of the body must ever be allowed to own us or distract us from the purpose of our existence. When it does we can rest assured that it is working against God’s will in our lives. It becomes a distraction from God not an attraction to Him.
Disciplining the body serves to protect us from these ever increasing potentially controlling desires. ‘We beat our body to make it our slave’, not literally of course, but through the discipline of denying ourselves so that Christ might increase within us. He must increase. I must decrease.
It is a purposefully difficult task because resistance builds strength.
Give me the strength of your Holy Spirit within to ‘discipline my body and bring it under strict control’ for the glory of your Name.
Ventanas 