"SAFEGUARD YOUR HEART"

"Take Hold on Discipline"

Echoing the instruction of his father, the king of Israel next says: "Hear, my son, and accept my sayings. Then for you the years of life will become many. I will instruct you  even in the way of wisdom; I will cause you to tread in the tracks   of uprightness. When you walk your pace will not be cramped; and if you run, you will not stumble. Take hold on discipline; do not let go. Safeguard it, for it itself is your life." -Proverbs 4:10-13.  

As a real son to his father, Solomon must have appreciated the value of loving discipline that instructs and corrects.  Without balanced discipline, how could we expect to progress to spiritual maturity or hop to improve the quality of our life?  If we do not learn from our mistakes or if we fail to correct wrong ideas, our spiritual advancement will indeed be negligible. Reasonable discipline leads to godly conduct and thus helps us to "tread in the tracks of uprightness." 

Another type of discipline also results in making 'the years of our life become many.'  How? Well, Jesus Christ said:  "The person faithful in what is least is faithful also in much, and the person unrighteous in what is least is unrighteous also in much." (Luke 16:10)  Would  not disciplining ourselves in little things make it easier for us to the same in big things, upon which our very lives may depend? For example, training the eye not to 'keep on looking at a woman so as not to have a passion for her' would make it unlikely  that we would succumb to immorality.  (Matthew 5:28) Naturally, this principle applies to both men and women. If we discipline our minds to 'bring every thought into captivity,' there is little danger that we will grossly transgress in word or action. -2 Corinthians 10:5. 

True,  discipline is usually difficult to accept and may seem restrictive.  (Hebrews 12:11) Yet, the wise king assures us that if we take hold on discipline, our path will be conducive to our making progress. Just as proper training permits a runner to move ahead at optimum speed without falling or injuring himself, taking hold of discipline allows us to continue on the road to life at a steady pace without our stumbling. Of course, we must be careful about the path we choose.

Next time: Shun "the Path of the Wicked Ones" 

From the Watchtower magazine, 2000