I Get To
“For who maketh thee to differ from another? and what hast thou that thou didst not receive? now if thou didst receive it, why dost thou glory, as if thou hadst not received it?”1 Corinthians 4:7 (KJV)
A lot of discipline starts with “I have to.” I have to read my Bible. I have to work out. I have to budget. It works for a while, then it feels like a cage.
For a Christian, the order runs the other way. Our actions don’t make us who we are. Who we are in Christ shapes our actions. “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.” The good works come out of being his workmanship.
And everything we are disciplined with is a gift. “what hast thou that thou didst not receive?” Your time, your money, your body: all received. That turns discipline into stewardship.
Try changing the words in your head. Not I have to, but I get to. I get to open God’s word. I get to care for this body he gave me. I get to steward what he trusted me with. It is the same habit, but a different heart.
Read it yourself
Read Ephesians 2:1–10. What does Paul say we were before God made us alive, and what are we now?
Which discipline in your life feels most like I have to? How would it change as I get to?
Lord, everything I have is from you. Turn my have-to into get-to, and let me steward your gifts with joy. Amen.