I was at O’Hare Airport last month browsing the bookstore while I waited for my flight.  I was not surprised to find a surplus of self-help books for sale as that genre has seen tremendous growth the last couple of decades.  Books on how to get motivated, how to fix your life, how to develop good habits, everything that you can think of in an attempt to trick yourself into being better.  I was surprised to find that people are still pushing the false idea that doing something for 21 days in a row will install a habit in your person, as if you are some sort of Pavlovian dog who instinctively responds to external stimuli.  We know this theory is false empirically, which should not surprise us since the idea is rooted in the false doctrines of evolution.  Habits are not formed by a condition – response process of repetition, as we are not animals who live by instinct (1 Peter 2:12; Jude 10; Psalm 32:9).  Rather, habits are a reflection of our character, which is formed by what we put in our minds (Proverbs 22:17; 2 Corinthians 10:5; 1 Peter 1:13).  In looking at books on motivation, they all share a common thread which is to achieve a rewards of some sort, which is not a bad thing, just an observation.  This little bit of ad-hoc research at the airport helped crystallize my thoughts to see an important distinction between motivation and resolve.  As I have been thinking about the practice of spiritual disciplines and searching for correlations in my mind that could be applied to physical disciplines, the Lord opened up the scriptures to me to learn to think about discipline differently.

I have come to the conclusion that it is okay to have motivation to be discipline, but if that is your only fuel, you will eventually run out of gas.  Instead, a person needs to find their resolve.  So what’s the difference?  Motivation is external to yourself and resolve is internal to who you are.  Motivation is typically fueled by emotions based on a desired outcome where as resolve is a disposition of the soul based on a principled response.  External motivation can serve you well for a while, but it can also be deceptive or leave you wanting once the goal is achieved.  For example, you may be motivated to improve yourself to win the affection of another person or perhaps you are motivated to work extra hours to save money for a new car or home, etc.  Suppose motivation serves you well and you achieve your end, then what?  Suppose you get what you desire, what will motivate you now that you have your prize?  The problem is that motivation typically lacks sustainability, though you may have success for a short time and achieve short term goals, but without the proper resolve, you may find yourself striving after that same goal a year or two down the road.   So how do we break the cycle?

Resolve is generally defined as being determined, but there is much more to it.  The etymology of the word suggests breaking down or reducing something to it’s component parts which is how it is used in chemistry.  If we take that idea ontologically, we can speak about our personal resolve in correlation to our identity.  I like this idea because, as a Christian, my identity is in Christ.  So, when I look at  scripture to see what the Bible has to say about finding resolve, I find that the bridge between resolve and sustainable self-discipline is my identity in Christ.  There are several verses I am going to share below, but first we have one example in Daniel 1 that illustrates the resolve I am speaking of.  Daniel 1:8 says that Daniel “made up his mind not to defile himself.”  The context of the verse shows us that Daniel made a commitment to honor God.  The word translated “mind” can also be translated heart which refers to the inner man, the soul of a person, so the verse can be said to state that Daniel was determined in his soul to honor God by not defiling himself.  We can see in the following verse (1:9) that God was pleased with Daniel’s resolve.  Below I am going to share some principles and verses that I have committed to memory so that I can be firm in my resolve in my daily life.  This may seem somewhat basic, but I believe it will show great value as I share the application of resolve in the rest of this series of posts:

God owns me therefore honor God in my body (Matthew 22:37):  ¹⁹ …you are not your own? ²⁰ For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body. – 1 Corinthians 6:19b-20

Discipline of Self Control is a Fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:23): ¹⁶ walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh.¹⁷ For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please. – Galatians 5:16-17 

Discipline requires being intentional and a being consistent: ²⁵ Everyone who competes in the games exercises self-control in all things… ²⁶ Therefore I run in such a way, as not without aim; I box in such a way, as not beating the air; ²⁷ but I discipline my body and make it my slave…  1 Corinthians 9:24 – 27 

Discipline of Mind is Reflected in other areas of my life:  …by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. ² And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect. – Romans 12:1 – 2 

I have other principles from scripture to share, but I will leave you with these for now as they will come up in other posts in this series.  In thinking about the disciplines life, it is important to remember that who we are is not reflected in a mirror, but rather in our lives, in our actions, in the fruit our life produces.  When Paul speaks of making his body a slave, it points to this very fact that God gave us body in which to live for now, to carry out His purpose in this world.  In closing, I am reminded of a quote from C.S. Lewis quote that says, “You don’t have a soul, you are a soul, you have a body!