Self-control, part III: Ancient disciplines
From the earliest centuries of Christianity, the intentional effort to discipline oneself has been a part of the understanding of a man’s spiritual development. The earliest Christian hermits, beginning with St. Anthony of Egypt, taught men to withdraw from the influences of the world to learn self-control. He and his followers considered themselves “athletes for Christ”. This “athletic” concept, drawn from Scriptures such as 1 Corinthians 9:24-27, encouraged men to live an ascetic life for the purpose of gaining spiritual strength. [1] St. Benedict of Nursia developed the concept of the corporate monastery, in which men lived simply and communally in order to grow spiritually, and learn to serve each other and live as equals, free from materialism. [2]
I could go on at great length, about Roman Catholic disciplines, Eastern Orthodox disciplines, Lutheran/Wesleyan disciplines, and so on. I hope you get the point, though, that spiritual disciplines, whatever their format, were once highly valued. Those who employed them learned to break free from chains of addiction, gain self-control, and learn to hear God more clearly. They learned how to live in a spiritually sustainable way.
Learning self-control is valuable, much more valuable than we understand today. The ancients knew this, and went to great lengths to develop it. It doesn’t require extremes of ascetic lifestyles, either; all it asks for is the development of daily patterns of life that make a habit of right choices. It is, however, very much against the grain of the hedonism today’s culture encourages, and the one who chooses to exercise self-control will certainly face opposition and ridicule. But imagine the freedom, the clarity, the sense of peace that you can have by breaking the chains of the things that drag you down. Just imagine not waking up in the morning and not having to face the urges of self-destructive behavior patterns. Imagine being able to go to bed at night and sleep peacefully, feeling free from shame and guilt. Imagine how much better your life would be, if you could have the freedom to say “No” to the things that have been eating away at your life, and “Yes” to a life that is spiritually sustainable and emotionally healthy. You don’t have to join a monastery or live in a cave. You do have to submit yourself to learn how to live differently.
