The Difference between Discipline and Legalism

God calls us to be balanced individuals. Now if legalism and outright procrastination lie on opposite ends of the spectrum, discipline is the mediating factor smack dab in the middle that keeps us stabilized and steady.

Don’t get me wrong, we shouldn’t impose stringent laws that are impractical or virtually unattainable on ourselves or other people, but establishing goals is not inherently negative. In fact, goals are healthy and they help give us the motivation we need the extra encouragement to push through and stay on course.

Discipline in this context is defined as the determination to achieve a certain outcome. In that light, a person who exercises discipline is willing to sacrifice short term pleasure for long term gain. To do this, they create a set of objectives and focus on their desired goal to avoid getting distracted or discouraged along the way.

Let's take an athlete for instance, the apostle Paul said runners discipline their bodies to win a prize. Usain Bolt, who is unarguably one of the fastest men to have ever walked on the planet, did not become a multi-Olympic medal champion overnight.

On the contrary, he had to practice daily for hours on end and adhere to a rigorous diet and workout plan to get where he is today. Now while our personal aspirations may not require that type of discipline, chances are our purposes and aspirations will require some form of sacrifice.

Discipline is usually utilized and developed during the preparation stage. This means that the end results aren't always visible and the practice session obviously aren’t always enjoyable. God understands this, that's why the Bible states that no discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it (Hebrew 12:11 NIV).   

Now if you are anything like me, at first glance you may have interpreted the word discipline to refer to the use of a punishment to correct disobedience. Nevertheless, while correction is a part of discipline, the main components of virtue are characterized by practice and training.

Obviously, determination, drive, discipline and grit are needed to accomplish any objectives. In Philippians, the apostle Paul tells us we should “press on to reach the end of the race to receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.”

While we should avoid bogging ourselves down with rules we cannot keep, we should safeguard against frustration and discouragement by pressing on and trusting God to take us through.