In my younger years, I spent quite a bit of my time training in the Korean art of Taekwon-do.I learned to implement 5 basic tenets:
Courtesy
Integrity
Perseverance
Self-Control
Indomitable Spirit
I trained hard. I am not a hefty or strong physique by any means, I, of all my sisters, was always called "delicate" and I hated that. I worked twice as hard in an attempt to make up for it.
This art required a great deal of concentration and coordination. Somehow this equaled strength. The discipline factor resulted in a lot of crazy things.
For example, one of the requirements to move up in rank was, of course, board breaking. For the sake of training we used re-breakables, which were plastic and interlocked down the center like a sort of puzzle. Pine boards were reserved for testing only, and the re-breakable plastics were actually much harder to work with (they had only one point at which to break, whereas a piece of pine has many). I can remember slamming my fist into these boards at least a dozen different moves, traditional, knife hand, two-knuckle, ridge hand, you name it. After I wound up with bruised and sometimes bleeding knuckles on many occasions, my teachers saw that I would probably break my hand before I broke the board, and decided to offer me elbow breaks instead.
I nearly broke my arm the first time I made such a board break. I have no idea what it was that drove me to try and try and try again, when I only ended up injured and frustrated.
I guess the main reason for this strange perseverance was, I was trained to obey. Over time I learned to ignore pain and fatigue and keep going. Part of this was a result of my teacher's threats to make us do knuckle push-ups in the unpaved parking lot or run laps barefoot around the neighborhood...
Upon a little reflection, I have realized how dedicated I was. I practiced, practiced, practiced. And now? Do I work that hard at anything anymore?
I call myself a Christian, am I disciplining myself unto godliness? I claim that God is of the utmost importance in my life, but do I live like it?
I like to think I am a hard worker, but do I really push as hard as I can to meet a deadline?
I say I make good use of my time...but we all know there is always room for improvement!
As for money...I definitely could get by without some of the things I spend money on. Am I being a good steward of whatever is in my responsiblility?
Life could/should be so much richer than it is. God has gifted me so much, and I am lethargic and think that I'm okay, when I'm not. I'm not saying we should discipline ourselves quite in the fashion that I did for taekwon-do, but similar. If something is right, do it even if it hurts. Do it even if no one else can carry on anymore. Do it until you like it and learn to love it!
It is my prayer to learn discipline once more, but to be able to implement it into my life as it was designed to be.
