Discipline is hard.
Well, if you are an old-time subscriber I bet this is not the first time you would hear me say this. That is because discipline is tough.
In the last seven months, God has been teaching me a little something about taming addiction. Yes, soda addiction, but relating it to sexual addiction amongst others, chill and read through first.
In February my cousin reached out, and he said we should stay off soda for the entire month. It was really hard, but, I did it. Feeling proud of myself, I decided to continue, but first, I decided to drink the three bottles of drinks I had in my hostel before proceeding with my discipline. What, don’t blame me please like you wouldn’t do the same. I’m sorry, it wasn’t a shade, but that was me trying to exonerate myself like most people would when they are caught doing things they ought not to. Anyways, I drank my Fanta, Coca-Cola, and 7Up and returned to my fast, after two weeks.
A week after my birthday, {which was in May by the way} I attended a meeting and I was given Bigi Cola. No shades to Bigi fans, but it actually isn’t my favorite drink, and I wouldn’t buy it with my money on a normal day. But on this day I was suddenly attracted to it, all measures of discipline proved abortive, and I was the only one at home. After several tossing and turning, I opened it. Then it smelt repulsive to me, and I closed it back. Ohh, you think that’s the end? Nah, I went back, opened it, and took a gulp that stained my testimony of soda abstinence. That day the Holy Spirit chastised me, and He said “If you fail in the day of adversity, then your strength is small”. Ahhh, lori bigi cola?! I was shocked and I started crying. I cried because I felt I had committed a sin greater than taking Bigi cola. Wait, was it not jejely on my own I decided to do this thing, eskis me, sir, when did you join? That was when I discovered God wants us to control our appetites, He wants us to gain mastery over it. We shouldn’t be slaves to our desires, instead, they should be subject to us!
All things are lawful, but not all things are permissible, learn to go on a fast. If you see your bread consumption is getting to the extreme, declare a bread fast. Don’t make any food lord over you. You’d be amazed to hear some Christians say they can’t do without a particular food or game. If you spend so much time on social media, then I guess it’s time to address that. If you check your screen time and see for yourself the amount of time you while away on the internet, maybe you’d see the need to adjust. Set an app timer if you are struggling, and use focus mode for hours you need to invest in productive things. Be lord over how you spend your time. It is amusing to see that God is interested in this aspect of our lives as well.
It made so much sense now, seeing that God was equally interested in my discipline journey. But does it suddenly mean they’d stop selling Pepsi in my area? Or maybe I’d suddenly not crave it? No! In fact, that’s when the desire comes on stronger.
Well, it was not until last month that I learned another lesson on this same issue. One Sunday afternoon I suddenly had this strong urge to take Pepsi, and I remembered Proverbs 24:10, the MSG translation really hits home for me. “If you fall to pieces on the day of crisis, there wasn’t much to you in the first place”. Ahhh please o, there’s more to me than meets the eye. What did I learn this time around, and how did I handle this urge, did I fall? Or did I flee? Well, watch out for part two!
By the way, I haven’t hacked the discipline to stay consistent yet. So, a big thank you to my friend David, whose birthday request was that I send this mail out today, happy birthday Ore mi.
Dear Light Bearer, see you in the concluding part. I love you and I am rooting for you.
Yours-in-love,
Mo, The Light Bearer 🤍✨