We watched much of the 2018 Winter Olympics. I enjoyed the cross-country skiing, bob-sledding and some of the snowboarding events. Loved the USA-Canada hockey game, but I’m not sure about curling. What I really enjoyed were the backstories. It made the games more personal to know about the athletes and how they got there.
It was evident that each athlete was highly disciplined. I remember an interview with a bob-sled pilot who said that people thought they started ‘practicing’ for events just before the Olympics, when the truth was as soon as they finished one Olympics they were back to training for the next one in four years. That’s discipline.
Ps 94:12: “Blessed is the man you discipline, O LORD, the man you teach from your law.” [NIV]
Discipline. Everybody who loves discipline raise your hand! Be interesting to know how many did, wouldn’t it? Discipline is probably not something we love. It is, however, a necessary part of life, especially our Christian life. Sometimes discipline is self-imposed, as with Olympic athletes. Sometimes discipline is imposed by others; we tend to think of that as punishment. I think the discipline definition I like best is “training that corrects, molds, or perfects the mental faculties or moral character.”
The psalmist reminds us of one thing about discipline that we tend to overlook—blessing. We are blessed when the LORD disciplines us. Thank you, LORD, for training and teaching us from Your Word. Amen.
