Discipline defined is:

• training to act in accordance with rules; drill: military discipline.
• activity, exercise, or a regimen that develops or improves a skill; training: A daily stint at the typewriter is excellent discipline for a writer.
• to train by instruction and exercise; drill.

(via dictionary.com)

When I was younger I always thought that reading the Bible was something that comes with ease after accepting Christ. I WAS WRONG! ha! It didn’t come easy and still to this day is not the easiest thing to pick up and read. But I do feel it’s INCREDIBLY important. SO, I decided to make myself sit down and just read a chapter a day of the Proverbs, which is a great place to be considering my situation. What I learned through that time was great and actually a verse that was found in Proverbs 12:1 (NIV) that says:

“Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge,
but he who hates correction is stupid.”

nailed me in the face! And also brought about a “want to” in my reading. I mean its plain and simple. Discipline is correction and if you don’t like correction you are straight up stupid. As harsh as that sounds its true. Correction is something I know I struggle with. I mean, who really likes for someone to come in and tell them that what you are doing isn’t correct? I DON’T! But if you are a believer then you know the Bible is the holy book given to us to sharpen us and teach us about our Creator and how to live. That in that one book we begin to have a more intimate relationship with our God. In knowing the greatness of  it,we must discipline ourselves in his word. May we not be “stupid” believers following things we think is of God’s character but truly seek Him and who He is through his Book of Knowledge and Life.

It’s powerful people. Discipline.

SO I recently took a trip to Florida for some vaca and to lead at Flamingo Road Church, Cooper City and decided,” Hey, I am not going to update Twitter or Facebook this entire trip”. That lead to me thinking, ” I should just fast social media.” I honestly didn’t have a specific reason besides quality time with my wife. But I really wanted to do it.

What I found was how much I wanted to update. Show pictures, talk about what I was seeing, @ message people and know what in the world (literally) is going on! I don’t think that is bad. Just realized how much I checked it and how much it could be a source of fulfillment. I mean, its like any other addiction I think. For instance, lets take “Appearance”. You wake up, you look at yourself. You go to the bathroom, you look at yourself. You put junk on your face and then look at yourself. You try to think of as many ways to reinvent your looks as possible. Always keeping up with the top trends and trying to push the envelope. hours upon hours spent trying to look better than whoever is on the cover of your favorite magazine.And on and on and on…. I could keep going on for days but I feel like you get the point. What is social media for you? Are you waking up and the first thing you want to do is see who messaged you? Is it really just for networking or is it more? Are you finding self-worth through it? Just some questions. Be careful as to how you use it. Be careful for all that you think of it. It can be a great tool but it can also be a obsession or addiction if your not careful.

I fully would encourage you to just try for a week(5 days or full) and see what happens. Maybe you’re going through something in your life and need clarity. That is a great time to fast. So give it a try. Let me know how it goes. Would love to hear thoughts on this as well.