Training for the Contest by John MacArthur   [printer-friendly]

The price of victory is discipline. That means self-control, sacrifice, and hard work. Athletes in Paul's day trained hard just to be able to compete in the competition. In order to enter the Isthmian games, athletes had to give proof of ten months' full-time training. For thirty days before the event, the athletes trained together daily, in public view. They followed a staggering regimen of exercise and discipline that eliminated all but the most devoted. Then, as now, it was a serious commitment to be a world-class athlete.

That was precisely how Paul portrayed the discipline he followed as a leader of God's people. This was no mere game to him. He was more serious than any track-and-field athlete. He wanted to win a race that had far more significance than any arena sport. Therefore it required even more diligence and discipline.

"Everyone who competes for the prize is temperate [moderate, self-restrained, not given to excess] in all things," he said in 1 Corinthians 9:25. You can't break the training regimen and win. That is true not only in athletics. It is true in everything. It is especially true in leadership.

Genuine success always comes at a high price. Every athlete knows this. That is why athletes regulate their sleep, what they eat, and how they exercise. It's not a part-time effort. For those who want to excel, it is a constant, nonstop responsibility.

Discipline has to become a passion. It isn't merely a question of doing whatever is mandatory and avoiding whatever is prohibited. It involves voluntary self-denial. An athlete has every right to eat a full eight-course dinner just before he runs the 100-yard dash. That's his privilege. But it's not smart. And if he doesn't sacrifice that right, he's not going to win. Paul began 1 Corinthians 9 by making this very point. He had every right to be financially supported by those he ministered to (vv. 1-15). He had waived that right for their sake (vv. 12, 15), choosing to support himself as a tentmaker while he was living among them (Acts 18:3). "What is my reward then? That when I preach the gospel, I may present the gospel of Christ without charge, that I may not abuse my authority in the gospel" (1 Corinthians 9:18). "All things are lawful for me," he said, "but not all things are helpful; all things are lawful for me, but not all things edify" (10:23). He had voluntarily relinquished his apostolic rights for the sake of the Corinthians.

They, on the other hand, were so concerned about claiming their own rights that they were suing one another in secular courts (6:1-7). They were defiling the Lord's Supper by turning it into a contest over who got there first and who could get the most (11:21). They were so busy grasping at their rights, they were losing the prize. They were destroying their testimony and fragmenting the fellowship of the church. Virtually every problem in that church reflected a lack of discipline-an inability to control themselves and an unwillingness to forgo their own rights.

They desperately needed to follow Paul's example and show a little self-control. After all, if athletes can discipline themselves for the sake of a perishable prize, Christians certainly ought to be willing to do the same "for an imperishable crown" (9:25).

Why is discipline important? Discipline teaches us to operate by principle rather than desire. Saying no to our impulses (even the ones that are not inherently sinful) puts us in control of our appetites rather than vice versa. It deposes our lust and permits truth, virtue, and integrity to rule our minds instead.

We belong to an undisciplined society. The world we live in has enthroned the notion of personal rights and made restraint seem evil. But even in such a culture, those who rise to leadership will usually be the ones who practice a measure of self-control.

How can leaders develop self-discipline in an undisciplined world? With the hectic pace of modern life and the layers of complexity that have been added to life by so many modern "conveniences," is it possible to discipline oneself as a leader?

I'm convinced that it is, and I have found several practical suggestions to be personally helpful to develop self-discipline. When I'm asked to speak to leaders about leadership and self-discipline, I often give this list:

Get Organized

Start where you are. Clean your room. Put your desk in order. Put away things that are out of place, and throw away things that are useless. Make everything in your environment neat.

Make a list of priorities and put them in order. Then schedule your time so that everything gets done. Schedule the hardest and most undesirable tasks first, so that you can do them when you have the most energy. Break complex tasks into smaller steps, and schedule each phase of the process.

Personal organizers are very helpful, whether you prefer the high-tech style of computer-based personal information managers or the low-tech variety of a simple notebook or calendar. Use whatever suits your preference (even if it's just random scraps of paper), but keep it in one location and follow your plan.

If you don't have control of your time, you won't have control of any aspect of your life. And if you don't operate deliberately, on the schedule you have planned for yourself, your life will be ruled by crises and problem people. You cannot be an effective leader if you are always at the mercy of things out of your own control.

Use Time Wisely

Having made a plan for how you will use your time, follow it. Don't procrastinate. Work hard. Don't waste time. Stay busy. Be punctual. (Being late for appointments is a thoughtless waste of other people's time as well as your own.) Don't allow unnecessary interruptions or diversions to deflect you from your real priorities.

It is the epitome of foolishness to waste time. Paul wrote, "See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil" (Ephesians 5:15-16). 1 have never met anyone who could habitually waste time and yet remain organized.

Of course, you need leisure time too. Jesus Himself recognized that rest is essential (Mark 6:31). But be organized and disciplined in that part of your life as well.

Find Ways to Be Edified Rather Than Merely Entertained

When you have time for rest and relaxation, do things that feed your soul rather than your carnal appetites. Listen to tapes of good preaching. Find music that uplifts and ennobles, rather than filling your mind with vanity and foolishness. Read a good book. Develop a hobby that has real value. Have an edifying conversation with someone you love.

This is a key component of true godliness: Give your private life to God. Devote yourself especially in your leisure time to the task of cultivating humility, repentance, holiness, and the fear of God.

Pay Attention to Small Things

If you're going to stay disciplined, you need to develop a habit of putting things where they belong. When you see a picture frame that is crooked, straighten it. When you see a weed, pull it. When you see something out of place, no matter how insignificant it may seem, put it away.

Small things are often important. Jesus told a parable in which the master commended a servant who was "faithful in a very little" (Luke 19:17). A lack of discipline in small matters often causes failure in the big things too. As the familiar nursery rhyme reminds us, whole kingdoms have been lost for the want of a horseshoe nail. Conversely, in my experience, those who are faithful in small things are the same people who are disciplined in more important matters too.

Accept Extra Responsibility

When you see something that needs to be done, volunteer. Meet others' needs whenever you can. Show yourself to be an industrious leader. Look for ways to use your gifts and resources for the good of others. This will help you focus your energies. It will also help you cultivate a servant's heart.

You have probably heard the old adage "If you want something done, ask someone who is busy." That's because hardworking people are the ones who get things done. Lethargy breeds a disorganized and undisciplined life, and learning to embrace extra responsibility is a good cure for lethargy.

Once You Start Something, Finish It

If you have a habit of starting projects you never finish, that is a sure sign of an undisciplined life. This goes back to the issue of planning. Good organization includes counting the cost. Jesus said it is a reproach to start something and not be able to finish (Luke 14:28-32). Why multiply projects when you haven't finished what you started before? Such a habit will quickly undermine people's confidence in you as a leader.

Keep Your Commitments

In a similar vein, don't say you'll do something you cannot do, and don't make a promise you don't intend to fulfill. Jesus said, "Let your `Yes' be `Yes,' and your `No,' `No"' (Matthew 5:37).

In other words, your word is your vow. And Scripture says, "When you make a vow to the LORD your God, you shall not delay to pay it; for the LORD your God will surely require it of you, and it would be sin to you. But if you abstain from vowing, it shall not be sin to you. That which has gone from your lips you shall keep and perform, for you voluntarily vowed to the LORD your God what you have promised with your mouth" (Deuteronomy 23:21-23).

A person who doesn't even keep his own commitments is invariably undisciplined in the rest of life.

Tell Yourself No from Time to Time

Gain control of your own appetites by denying yourself pleasures you may be entitled to. Skip dessert. Take a walk instead of taking a nap. Do something for your spouse rather than treating yourself.

That sort of self-denial is precisely what Paul was describing in 1 Corinthians 9:27: "I discipline my body and bring it into subjection." He used a Greek expression that literally means "to strike under the eye." In figurative terms, he was saying he made his own body a punching bag in order to cultivate discipline.

Notice how Paul painted this picture of self-discipline in vivid athletic terms. He wrote, "Therefore I run thus: not with uncertainty" (v. 26). He knew where the goal was. He knew where the boundaries of the track were. So he ran toward the prize with absolute determination. A runner with no goal and no boundaries will run aimlessly and lethargically. The Christian leader must keep the goal in view and run with persistence and with all his energy.

This, by the way, is another integral principle of leadership. It is a perfect partner to the principle of discipline: A leader is energetic.

I have never known an effective leader who was lazy or idle. Leaders must be industrious and diligent. This goes hand in hand with many of the principles we have highlighted so far. It is a necessary prerequisite to the initiative, the enthusiasm, the decisiveness, and the resilience required in leadership.

The leader, like any good athlete, cannot walk off the track midrace. He presses on toward the goal. In fact, as every athlete knows, we frequently must press on through pain, despite weariness, regardless of injury, against all opposition, and amid all kinds of trials. While it sometimes seems to drain every ounce of energy from the human reservoir, the success of the effort replenishes the spirit. The good leader, like the good athlete, sometimes has to reach deep within and find a way to persevere when perseverance seems impossible. Paul knew exactly where he could draw such energy: "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" (Philippians 4:13). That's why he could say, "I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need" (v. 12). He had disciplined himself to run, and to persevere through all difficulties, in such a way that he could achieve the prize.

Here Paul added another metaphor midverse. He was not only a runner; he was a boxer as well: "Therefore I run thus: not with uncertainty. Thus I fight: not as one who beats the air" (1 Corinthians 9:26). Notice he was not shadowboxing, and he was not sparring. He was in a serious fight. While he was running, he was also fighting. He had an opponent he had to keep punching out, because the opponent would otherwise get him off track.

This opponent, remember, was his own flesh-meaning the sinful tendencies that are so often associated with bodily appetites and carnal lusts. Now we know why he treated his own body like a punching bag. Otherwise, his own flesh would cause him to lose the race. He was running to win and boxing to keep from losing. In positive terms, he was cultivating the discipline of mental toughness to keep his eyes on the prize and his feet moving the right direction. In negative terms, he was cultivating the discipline of self-control in order to keep his own flesh from costing him the race.

Every athlete knows what this struggle is like. Every good athlete must keep his body under control. He can't be overweight, and he can't be unhealthy. He nourishes his body, exercises it to stay fit, and works it to build muscle. He stays in control of his body.

Most people, by contrast, are controlled by their bodies. Their bodies tell their minds what to do. "Feed me more. Don't overwork me. Give me pleasure. Give me rest." That is why the sin principle is called "the flesh" throughout the Pauline epistles. It is not that the body itself is inherently evil. But evil desires are often associated with the body. So Paul said we need to "put to death the deeds of the body" (Romans 8:13) and "[crucify] the flesh with its passions and desires" (Galatians 5:24).

The athlete has two things going for him: First, he knows how to subdue the body; and second, he has the mental toughness to keep pursuing his goal. Paul was saying that what makes a great athlete is the same discipline necessary for an effective leader.

But, he said, it is a perpetual discipline. If you slack off or give up before reaching the finish line, everything will be lost. That is why we must press on (Philippians 3:13-14) and run with endurance (Hebrews 12:1).

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From The Book on Leadership by John MacArthur, ©2004. Reprinted by permission of Nelson Books, Nashville, TN.

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John MacArthur is pastor-teacher of Grace Community Church, Sun Valley, California and president of the Grace To You Bible-teaching media ministry (www.gty.org)