“Take heed to yourself and to doctrine…” (1 Timothy 4:16)
Just talking about spiritual discipline won't get you very far, let alone talking about how much others need it. Describing lifelong friends, Scott Turow wrote, "Many years ago I learned their dirtiest, nastiest secret: that their passion to change the world stemmed from an inability to change themselves." Hello! Do you talk a lot about things you haven't personally experienced, using it as a smokescreen to cover up your own superficiality? Understand this: developing a spiritual discipline is something that takes a lot of effort and is almost always done in secret, it's humiliating and it's not always fun. Let's examine it in parts: Does it require a lot of effort? Absolutely. It means being harder on yourself than you would like. It requires regularly reviewing your speech, relationships, and life choices, and correcting them where necessary. Do it in secret? Yes; When you strive to develop a spiritual discipline, it's wise not to talk too much about what you're doing. Talking is easy; just do it! It is humiliating? Definitely! Some days it's like taking one step forward and two steps back... Spiritual discipline requires "staying the course" while others walk away without acknowledging it or making excuses. Isn't it always fun? Developing a life of spiritual discipline is a satisfying experience, but it's not always fun. Notice what Paul wrote: “…I run like this, not as if by chance; That's how I fight, not like someone who punches the air; rather, I beat my body and put it in bondage, lest, having been a herald to others, I myself be cut off” (1 Corinthians 9:26-27).