I am the kind of person who takes shortcuts. There is not a “hack” I haven’t tried, a corner I haven’t cut. I believe I can pray, while scrubbing dishes, while also performing deep lunges on my way back and forth from the cupboard. I am the queen of doing things halfway … but doing them very quickly. So I might save myself 15 extra minutes by doing yoga while brushing my teeth but then ..I will waste a full hour scrolling my phone over coffee. What am I even doing? Eventually the choices I make for myself are just chaotic and meaningless. Yes, I have the agency to manage my time in any way that I want … but is this freedom?
Enter Jocko Willink, a retired Navy Seal, known for his adage: “Discipline Equals Freedom”. In his way of thinking, discipline and freedom are not opposites. In fact, they are deeply interconnected. It is the consistency of discipline that brings freedom and delivers peace of mind. It’s not motivation – which can come and go. It is not inspiration – which fades. It’s discipline and consistency – and there is no shortcut.
“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.” Matthew 7:24-27 NIV
What does this mean with regard to our commitment to walk in the way of Jesus, with the heart of Jesus? The operative words are these: “…who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice.” In other words, the freedom we seek comes from not just good intention: the transformation comes from the action.
Jesus tells us it is not enough to not murder, to refrain from doing something wrong. Instead we must actively reconcile. We don’t just avoid adultery – we must actively manage our thoughts. It’s not enough to love the familiar people in our life. Instead we must pray deeply for the people who aggravate us the most.
There is no hack, no shortcut for this kind of active discipline that transforms our hearts. But it is what gives us the true freedom we are looking for.
by Carie Grant
