Contemplative Bible Reading

2 Timothy 1:7 (New Living Translation)

For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.

Christians are not to live timidly and in fear. God did not create us that way. God gave us a spirit of

1. power
2. love
3. self-discipline

Wait a minute, how did that third one make this list? I get the idea of power and love, but self-discipline? That means a lot of things that I really don’t want to discuss. I mean, this passage CERTAINLY DOESN’T MEAN that God has given me the self-discipline to avoid:

• smoking
• drinking too much
• eating too much
• cursing
• viewing porno
• leaving work a little early (a lot early on Friday)
• speeding when no cops are around

and other such things that require self-discipline to avoid. I mean, really, God didn’t intend that stuff, did He?