Spiritual Disciplines in a Busy World
The Lost Art of Spiritual Disciplines
The Digital Age brought a cataclysmic shift into our society. This has certainly come with its benefits, namely, possessing libraries of information at our fingertips, connecting instantly with anyone around the world, and being able to accomplish things at such blinding speed that it surely would have previous generations scratching their heads. With our world changing so much, so quickly (just consider the difference in our world between a short span of 40 years: 1980-2020), some have pondered the very important question—what effect is this having on us?
How does our thinking shift when we trade time consuming agricultural work or hard manual labor for streamlined tasks on a computer? What sort of habits develop when we are used to receiving what we want in an instant, with the press of a button, and without ever leaving home to retrieve it? What type of people do we become when we spend much time aimlessly scrolling, concerned over numbers of “reactions” and (for some) attain instant celebrity status because of video of ours went viral? To be sure, I love my tech products and my two-day shipping—but I don’t think we sufficiently drawn the connection between the effect that our unmitigated access has on our spirituality.
Many things shape us as people. We are shaped by what we see, hear, say, and do. Our spirituality (defined here as “our experience of God and transformation into the image of Christ”) is the same way. The ancient Christians understood this concept. They, therefore, taught others about the need to follow Jesus by adopting regular “practices” in their lives so that the person they would be molded into would be one who is Christlike in both character and conduct. These practices are known as the “spiritual disciplines”. Below, I will talk more about what they are, the consequences to our faith if we do not practice them, how these practices can help us.
What are Spiritual Disciplines?
According to Scripture, believers are commanded to “train yourself for godliness” (1 Tim 4:7)[1]. This one line makes a couple of key points. First, it mandates our personal participation in the matter (it says train “yourself”). Nobody will do it for us. Second, we are to “train”. The Greek word that is translated into English “train” here is the word “gymnazo”. If this word seems familiar, it is because this is where we get our English word “gymnasium” from. This word points back to the 1st century Greco-Roman culture that bore witness to skilled athletes and gladiators who would “train” their bodies in a gym so they can succeed in the public arena. Is this text commanding our participation in the local recreation center? Not quite. The last word of this verse fixes our aim. In the same way that ancient athletes trained themselves for physical combat, we believers are to train ourselves for godliness (a transformation of character and conduct that is more like Christ than different). This is where the disciplines come in.
Spiritual disciplines, according to the author and professor Donald Whitney, are “those practices found in scripture that promote spiritual growth among believers in the Gospel of Jesus Christ”[2][3]. To put it another way, these disciplines are habits we engage in that bend our souls toward Christ. They are the tools that make fertile the grounds of our heart so a harvest of righteous living can sprout. They are the weights in the gym that promote the gains, but only if we engage them. Some of these practices include:
· Bible Study (2 Tim 2:15)
· Prayer (1 Thess. 5:16-18)
· Simplicity (Luke 12:13-21)
· Fellowship (Heb. 10:25)
· Silence/Solitude (Eccl. 5:2/Luke 4:42)
· Giving (2 Corin. 9:11)
· Secrecy (Matt 6:1-4)
· Etc.
It is important to note that the disciplines do not change us—that’s the job of the Holy Spirit. Our own “self-will” and “iron-clad determination” does not change us. God is the change agent. Period. The disciplines simply soften our hearts and provide the environment so that we will receive His word in us and it will yield a harvest.
Our engagement makes us soft clay in the hands of the master Potter who will shape, mold, and guide what we are to become. This process is difficult, however. It takes time, effort, failure, commitment, and consistency. Herein lies the problem: the state of our society has conditioned us away from all of those things. Here we are, then: commanded to be intentional in our pursuing godliness, yet sort of averse to everything that it will take to get us there. Where does that leave us? What are the negative results of a life without spiritual discipline?
The Undisciplined Life
If we do not regularly adopt practices that allow us to be shaped by God into His image, the results can be disastrous:
· Result #1: Primed for deception. The Bible is a complex book and we will spend the rest of our lives diving into its riches. If we never study the Scriptures for ourselves, however, we will never discover who God really is. Worse still, our lack of knowing God through the Scriptures makes us prey to false teachings about Him. Or a well-crafted, yet woefully inaccurate, meme.
· Result #2: Shallow Christian character. I find it ironic that a believer can abstain from alcohol or become incensed at the use of the phrase “oh my God” yet possess clear and obvious racist or sexist attitudes. This contradictory dynamic in those who profess a belief in Christ is evidence of a life lacking deep transformation.
· Result #3: Fickle Faith. When we do not understand the life of faith does not excuse us from experiencing difficulty, it will tempt us to give up when life gets tough. Complimented by a lack of knowing who God is, incoming tragedy will derail our faith simply because we have not been grounded in the truth of God’s love or because of our naïve expectations.
How do the disciplines help us?
I will present four reasons you and I need to seriously engage in the spiritual disciplines:
· Reason #1: In order to grow in godliness. Refer to the 1 Timothy 4:7 verse above. The byproduct of our engagement is godliness. Godliness is demonstrated through characteristics of “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control” (Gal. 5:22-23).
· Reason #2: To learn to discern good from evil. The mature believers have their “powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil” (Heb. 5:14). In growing and studying God’s word, we become people who can adequately discern truth from error. In these modern days, where misinformation about God & the Bible abounds, engaging in these disciplines can protect us from being swayed by false doctrine and give us a better ability to know right from wrong in complicated situations.
· Reason #3: To strengthen us against demonic affliction. Notice when Jesus faced the devil in Matthew 4, he overcame the devil’s schemes by being familiar with and quoting the Scripture. As we are given the same charge to “resist the devil” (James 4:7), let us abide by the same principle. We will have little success in using the Scripture, however, if we remain untrained in it.
· Reason #4: To prepare us to fight temptation. God commands us to crucify our sinful “passions and desires” (Gal. 5:24). For the greedy person infatuated with “bigger and more”, disciplines of giving and simplicity instill the opposing virtue. For one who is mastered by pride, disciplines of secrecy (where one does good works and purposely avoids the spotlight) will act to temper our souls. In this way, the disciplines can function to produce virtues that combat our vices. What particular character flaw do you struggle with? Instead of wishing it away, perhaps the missing element to the change you seek is a discipline that will force you to practice its opposite.
· Reason #5: In order to fulfill God’s call on our lives. As we yield ourselves to God’s transformation through His word, the result will be that we are mature and “equipped for every good work” (2 Tim. 3:17). In the same way that gladiators of old trained in private so they could perform in public, we too need to be developed in private so that our talents won’t take us to a place where our character won’t keep us. The last few years have shown us several examples of very influential believers who, after gaining massive influence, turned out to be those who did not have the character to handle their calling well.
What’s Next?
This post is just the introduction. The first in a series of blog posts regarding the disciplines. In subsequent lessons, we will explore some of the spiritual disciplines in greater detail. Our journey will begin by studying the discipline called prayer and discuss how social media has killed our prayer lives.
[1] Unless otherwise noted, all verses will be given in the ESV.
[2] https://www.desiringgod.org/interviews/what-are-spiritual-disciplines
[3] A reworded, yet similar definition exists in his book Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life.
For more info, reference “Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life” by Donald Whitney and “Celebration of Discipline” by Richard Foster
