Discipline

If there was one word that has always described me, it would be procrastinator.

I was the kid in high school that would be scribbling away to finish an assignment minutes before the bell rang. I hated coming home to do more work after school, especially after three hour long water polo practices immediately after six hours of class. I would come home, eat, and shower, and by that time, it would already be close to 8pm. I was tired, and my bed was calling me from afar to sink into its pillows. I always told myself that I could just go to bed early and finish my work in the morning. So, I listened to my bed every night and drifted off to sleep, leaving the stress of piles of homework for when I woke up the next day.

I have lots of fond memories waking up at 4 in the morning to finish homework or driving to school early to sit in my car in the parking lot to finish annotating my AP Literature books. No one would ever believe that I was a straight A student by looking at my study habits. It was truly a miracle that I did so well.

I thrive under pressure. I need a time constraints in order to motivate myself to get something done. Just today, I had a paper due for one of my seminary classes. I just barely started it last night and ending up doing a majority of it today just hours before class.

Clearly, old habits die hard.

I've always known that I've struggled with putting things off to the last minute. Homework, cleaning my room, doing the dishes, emailing, responding to text messages, running errands. I'm guilty of putting almost nearly every unpleasant thing off for some amount of time. I've always simply called it procrastination, but God is beginning to reveal to me that a deeper issue is at work here.

Have you ever heard of the Marshmallow Experiment? If you haven't, take a moment and watch this video. If you have, take a moment and watch this video anyways because these kids will put a smile on your face.

So the test is this. You start with one marshmallow. You can choose to eat the marshmallow now, or you can wait fifteen minutes and get two marshmallows.

This may not seem that difficult to people over the age of 8, but for these young kids, this is hard. A sugary treat is very enticing, especially when there are no adults around to tell them not to eat it. They stare at it from every angle imaginable. They pick it up and play with it. They smell it and lick it. And sadly, for some, the marshmallow is just too good to look at, so they shove it in their mouths without a second thought.

This study done here explores the idea of delay of gratification. Some kids were able to postpone immediate pleasure of the one marshmallow for the greater reward of two marshmallows. Others were not so self-controlled. After following up with these kids as teenagers and young adults, this study found that the kids that were able to wait for the greater reward:

• had higher SAT scores,
• were better able to cope with stress, 
• were less likely to make impulsive decisions, 
• were less likely to have drug problems, 
• were less likely to get divorced, and 
• were less likely to be overweight.

It turns out the payoffs were greater than just earning an extra marshmallow.

We see this same principle applied in the Bible when Esau sells his birthright to his brother, Jacob.

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"Once when Jacob was cooking stew, Esau came in from the field, and he was exhausted. And Esau said to Jacob, 'Let me eat some of that red stew, for I am exhausted!' (Therefore his name was called Edom.) Jacob said, 'Sell me your birthright now.' Esau said, 'I am about to die; of what use is a birthright to me?' Jacob said, 'Swear to me now.' So he swore to him and sold his birthright to Jacob. Then Jacob gave Esau bread and lentil stew, and he ate and drank and rose and went his way. Thus Esau despised his birthright."

Genesis 25:29-34

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Esau was hungry. In his moment of weakness, the stew that was looming in front of him was more enticing than maintaining his firstborn status. God made a covenant with Abraham to redeem the whole world through him and his descendants, and as the firstborn, Esau was a natural heir to this promise. However, he gave up this greater future blessing in favor of the immediate gratification of filling his stomach.

The book of Hebrews further elaborates on Esau's poor decision:

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"See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no 'root of bitterness' springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled; that no one is sexually immoral or unholy like Esau, who sold his birthright for a single meal. For you know that afterward, when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no chance to repent, though he sought it with tears."

Hebrews 12:15-17

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God calls Esau unholy in his actions. His inability to postpone immediate gratification was displeasing in the eyes of the Lord. Later, Esau wanted this blessing, but it was too late. God refused to give it to him because he had so carelessly given it up for food. Even though Esau mourned and wept for it to be given back to him, he was rejected. He missed out on the incredible blessing of being a part of God's plan for redeeming the world because his stomach was growling. 

Yikes. 

I wonder if I'm really so different than Esau. When I procrastinate on homework, I take the immediate reward of sleep, food, social media, Netflix, or hanging out with friends in favor of saving myself a lot of stress and being a good steward of my time. I always choose to reap the tangible benefits instead of choosing to honor God with my time and efforts. I wonder if I am missing out on a greater blessing that God wants to offer me because I'm always thinking of filling my stomach.

I don't think this just applies to procrastination either. How much do we miss when we choose to watch that episode of Lost instead of spending time in God's Word? How much do we miss when we choose to gossip and complain to our friends instead of taking our concerns to God in prayer? How much do we miss out when we choose to pursue a career that promises riches instead of submitting to God's purpose for our lives? How much do we miss out when we choose spiritual complacency over passionate pursuit of Christ?

Suddenly, we become the child holding the marshmallow. We lick it, smell it, and finally shove it in our mouths and give up the promise of a greater reward. But the greater reward in this case isn't as petty as a second marshmallow. We give up the reward of intimacy with our Father and the blessing of being able to be a part of His redemptive plans for the world.

That's a lot to give up, my friends.

Hebrews 12:11 says this, "For the moment, all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it."

In the moment, it is hard to give up our temptations in favor of being disciplined. God even says this resistance is painful. However, the temporary pain and struggle is worth it. It yields righteousness. It yields holiness. It yields peace. It yields deeper intimacy with God because we have to depend on His strength to resist our momentary temptations.

I would say these are much greater blessings, wouldn't you?

Discipline not only bears fruit. It also reminds us of a very important spiritual truth. It reminds us that God loves us.

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"My son, do not despise the LORD's discipline 
or be weary of his reproof, 
for the LORD reproves whom he loves, 
as a father the son in whom he delights."

Proverbs 3:11-12
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God disciplines us because we are His children. He disciplines us because He wants better things for us than the things that we chase after. He wants to mold and shape our character to reflect Him more. He does this because it is what is best for us. He does this because He loves us.

I'm tired of choosing one marshmallow over two. I'm sick of filling my stomach in favor of God's blessings for me. I'm done lacking discipline and self-control. I want God's best for me, not my own fleeting desires.

Father, hear my prayer. Help me to be disciplined in all that I do. Help me to be obedient to your desires for my life. Help me to see that the pain is worth the reward.

I want Your best for me.

And the best is You, Jesus.

Blessings,

Maddie