In this series, Memorable Passages, I am sharing with you some of the passages which have impressed me greatly.
The following passage is one such wonderful and inspiring writing which I have enjoyed immensely and hope you will also enjoy and benefit by it. I picked up this book just outside the Moore Market in Chennai for a very small sum. Its subtitle is, 100 MEDITATIONS FROM PROVERBS, ECCLESIASTES AND THE SONG OF SONGS. My immediate reaction on seeing the subtitle was, must be another book by some Christian clergy. But once I started turning the pages, I realized I was holding in my hands a wonderful book which every spiritual seeker irrespective of his religion, should read and benefit by.
This passage, I hope, will make the reader look for the book and read it entirely. Not just once, but again and again. It is only a piece of the cake; why don't you try the full cake? I have given my feelings within brackets in the passage itself, wherever I thought would be fit.
My grateful thanks to the author, Henry Gariepy, who is Editor-in-Chief of the national publications of The Salvation Army and is a Colonel in The Salvation Army. He has written many books. (Ah, how much I would like to get and read them!). My grateful thanks are to the publishers of this book, VICTOR BOOKS, a division of the Scripture Press Publications, Inc.
Now, to the passage:
DARE TO DISCIPLINE
He who heeds discipline shows the way to life - Holy Bible, 10:17
The words discipline and disciple are closely related. One cannot be a disciple without discipline. Discipline is characterized by self-control, orderliness, efficiency, self-mastery. These qualities are the hallmarks of the Christian life. (I substituted Spiritual life for Christian life).
Our text states that the one who heeds discipline becomes an example of the way to live. Richard Foster commences his classic devotional book, Celebration of Discipline, with the statement, "Superficiality is the curse of the age." The classical disciplines, he writes, "call us to move beyond surface living into the depths...They urge us to be the answer to a hollow world." He laments, "Today there is an abysmal ignorance of the most simple and practical aspects of nearly all the Classic Spiritual Disciplines." (I would very much like to get this book and read it. Does not it sound fascinating?)
The concept of discipline is is uncommon in today's permissive society. Self-indulgence is preferred to self-mastery, feasting to fasting, superfluity to simplicity, confusion to contemplation, self-seeking to self-giving.
The Book of Proverbs call us to discipline. The word occurs almost as many times in Proverbs as in the rest of the Bible combined. The royal teacher declares, "Whosoever loves discipline, loves knowledge"(12:1) and "He who ignores discipline, despises himself"(15:32). He also urges, "Get wisdom, discipline and understanding"(23:23). He is writing of the discipline that by training and knowledge, will develop mastery and character.
Richard Foster defines a disciplined person as one who does what needs to be done when it needs to be done. This simple and yet incisive definition has the most practical applications for the Christian. The disciplined person rises a half hour earlier to allow time for the priority of morning devotions. The disciplined person resists watching television programs that would allow unholy scenes and thoughts to enter his mind. The disciplined person avoids the enticing foods that would impair health. The disciplined person makes the time and expends effort for a needed exercise regimen. The disciplined person forgoes a luxury to avoid debt and is committed to a simple lifestyle. The disciplined person sacrifices the pleasure of the moment for the greater benefit of the future. The disciplined person has priorities in order and regulates life around them.
Wisdom to live by has a prerequisite of discipline. It is not a luxury for supersaints, but is the requirement for every believer......
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I can go on quoting from this book. Better, everyone who is impressed by the above passage tries to get a copy of the book and reads it. What do you say?
My grateful thanks are to the author, Henry Gariepy and Victor Books, the publishers.
The following passage is one such wonderful and inspiring writing which I have enjoyed immensely and hope you will also enjoy and benefit by it. I picked up this book just outside the Moore Market in Chennai for a very small sum. Its subtitle is, 100 MEDITATIONS FROM PROVERBS, ECCLESIASTES AND THE SONG OF SONGS. My immediate reaction on seeing the subtitle was, must be another book by some Christian clergy. But once I started turning the pages, I realized I was holding in my hands a wonderful book which every spiritual seeker irrespective of his religion, should read and benefit by.
This passage, I hope, will make the reader look for the book and read it entirely. Not just once, but again and again. It is only a piece of the cake; why don't you try the full cake? I have given my feelings within brackets in the passage itself, wherever I thought would be fit.
My grateful thanks to the author, Henry Gariepy, who is Editor-in-Chief of the national publications of The Salvation Army and is a Colonel in The Salvation Army. He has written many books. (Ah, how much I would like to get and read them!). My grateful thanks are to the publishers of this book, VICTOR BOOKS, a division of the Scripture Press Publications, Inc.
Now, to the passage:
DARE TO DISCIPLINE
He who heeds discipline shows the way to life - Holy Bible, 10:17
The words discipline and disciple are closely related. One cannot be a disciple without discipline. Discipline is characterized by self-control, orderliness, efficiency, self-mastery. These qualities are the hallmarks of the Christian life. (I substituted Spiritual life for Christian life).
Our text states that the one who heeds discipline becomes an example of the way to live. Richard Foster commences his classic devotional book, Celebration of Discipline, with the statement, "Superficiality is the curse of the age." The classical disciplines, he writes, "call us to move beyond surface living into the depths...They urge us to be the answer to a hollow world." He laments, "Today there is an abysmal ignorance of the most simple and practical aspects of nearly all the Classic Spiritual Disciplines." (I would very much like to get this book and read it. Does not it sound fascinating?)
The concept of discipline is is uncommon in today's permissive society. Self-indulgence is preferred to self-mastery, feasting to fasting, superfluity to simplicity, confusion to contemplation, self-seeking to self-giving.
The Book of Proverbs call us to discipline. The word occurs almost as many times in Proverbs as in the rest of the Bible combined. The royal teacher declares, "Whosoever loves discipline, loves knowledge"(12:1) and "He who ignores discipline, despises himself"(15:32). He also urges, "Get wisdom, discipline and understanding"(23:23). He is writing of the discipline that by training and knowledge, will develop mastery and character.
Richard Foster defines a disciplined person as one who does what needs to be done when it needs to be done. This simple and yet incisive definition has the most practical applications for the Christian. The disciplined person rises a half hour earlier to allow time for the priority of morning devotions. The disciplined person resists watching television programs that would allow unholy scenes and thoughts to enter his mind. The disciplined person avoids the enticing foods that would impair health. The disciplined person makes the time and expends effort for a needed exercise regimen. The disciplined person forgoes a luxury to avoid debt and is committed to a simple lifestyle. The disciplined person sacrifices the pleasure of the moment for the greater benefit of the future. The disciplined person has priorities in order and regulates life around them.
Wisdom to live by has a prerequisite of discipline. It is not a luxury for supersaints, but is the requirement for every believer......
---
I can go on quoting from this book. Better, everyone who is impressed by the above passage tries to get a copy of the book and reads it. What do you say?
My grateful thanks are to the author, Henry Gariepy and Victor Books, the publishers.
