How to Live a Disciplined Life: A Devotion From Proverbs 2:28

The root word for discipline comes from the same word as the word disciple. The word disciple means to follow leadership and teachings of another. In the end discipline is either something you learn from a person like a teacher or other esteemed person in your life and yourself.

Proverbs 2:28 states, "A man without self-control(discipline) is like a city broken into and left without walls."

In life we all have mentors whom we admire. These mentors fall into two categories – good and bad. Our good mentors teach us those disciplines which will help us to live a more productive and worry free life. Bad mentors are those people whom we come in contact with who are bent on teaching us to live an undisciplined life. Both types of mentors are necessary in order to learn to live a more balanced and self disciplined life.

Including discipline in your life involves three parts.

In order to live a more disciplined life you need to learn to respect yourself. Respecting yourself means taking care of yourself mentally and physically as well as spiritually. Life is all about balance, when a personal life becomes unbalanced, personal discipline suffers. If you allow yourself to over indulge in any area, like overeating, it throws the rest of life out of balance.

Being overweight can lead to a poor self image, which may lead to all manner of physical and social maladies. When I was in school I was picked on for the way I dressed and looked. My family came from a poor background and I had to wear whatever my mom found along the way. The constant bullying about my appearance led to years of self doubt and low self worth which still exists to a point today some forty years later.

In order to have more discipline in your life you need to learn to have more respect for the those around you-family friends, co-workers etc. Having respect means you don't get flippant when someone does something which you don't like. Having respect means you respect someone's space as much as you want them to respect your space and the list goes on and on. When we have a lack of respect for others, our lives become more undisciplined and we will tend to say and do things which may seem out of character for who are.

A major part of including discipline in your life is taking the blame for all of your actions. A disciplined person does not try to pass the blame but accepts the punishment or praise for all of their actions. One of the major flaws in today's society is passing the blame for our own actions. Phrases like, “It wasn't my faulty,” or “He or she made me do it,” are used to pass to deflect the blame away to someone else. Playing the blame game has helped to create a much more undisciplined society.

While these are not the only ways to include discipline in your life, they are a good start. The key is to make the decision to live a more disciplined life and then set a plan in motion on how you are going to get there,