In a study titled “Delay of gratification in children”, it was reported that “4-year-old children who delayed gratification longer in certain laboratory situations developed into more cognitively and socially competent adolescents, achieving higher scholastic performance and coping better with frustration and stress”.(1) In a nutshell, this study showed that young children with good self-control had better outcomes during their adolescent years.
Intuitively, the result is not surprising. As we mature into adulthood, we learn that to get something, we must give up other things. The ability to manage our desires impacts our ability to achieve personal goals. Students need to limit their gaming time if they want to do well in their studies. Parents need to curtail spending on leisure if they want to support their children’s education. Workers need to forgo social activities to meet deadlines. We do this because in the longer run, the benefit outweighs the cost. The reward at the end is worth the effort.
In many ways, the same is true for our spiritual life. To achieve spiritual goals, we need spiritual disciplines. Without putting in the effort and making the sacrifice, it is unlikely that we will achieve our spiritual goals. To know God, we need to study His word. To know God’s will, we need to spend time in prayer. To be the Lord’s disciple, we need to act on His commands. God sees our acts of obedience and responds to our faith. The blessing that we receive from God is well worth the effort.
However, Christians sometimes think that spiritual goals can be attained without effort. Undoubtedly, all blessings are from God by His grace, but spiritual disciplines are the means of receiving His grace.(2) Without the discipline, there is no grace.
As a start, let us strive to renew ourselves spiritually by committing to spend time each day meditating on God’s word and in prayer. These are basic actions that we can take to achieve our goal of being the Lord’s disciples. Through these disciplines, we can be sure that God will richly reward us by His grace day by day.
1 W Mischel, Y Shoda, and M. Rodriguez, “Delay of Gratification in Children.” Science 244, no. 4907 (May 1989): 933–8. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.2658056.
2 Richard Foster, Celebration of Discipline (PerfectBound, 1998), 7.