William Knelsen As I wait in hope for the Lord.

Anyone who knows me well will probably laugh if they see that I am writing on the topic of the discipline of submission. I am not exactly known for how well I submit to others. However, the purpose of writing is not necessarily to tell others how to live, rather, to explain the discipline and, in turn, reminding myself of how I should be living.

I would like to focus on what Foster calls the seven acts of submission:

1. Submission to the Triune God.
   We surrender our body, mind, and spirit into the hands of God to do with us what he pleases.
2. Submission to the Scripture.
   We yield ourselves first to hear the Word, second to receive the Word, and thrid to obey the Word.
3. Submission to our family.
   The primary deed of submission is a commitment to listen to the other family members.
4. Submission to our neighbors and those we meet in the course of our daily lives.
   No task is too small, too trifling, for each one is an opportunity to live in submission.
5. Submission to the believing community, the body of Christ.
   Most frequently, acts of submission are spontaneous opportunities for little tasks of service.
6. Submission to the broken and despised
   Our first responsibility is to be among the “widows and orphans”.
7. Submission to the world.
   Our act of submission is a determination to live as a responsible member of an increasingly irresponsible world

Please Note: I would strongly encourage you to read Richard J. Foster’s Celebration of Discipline to get the full message of these disciplines.

The disciplined person is the person who can do what needs to be done when it needs to be done… most of us can get the ball into the hoop eventually, but we can’t do it when it is needed. Likewise, a person who is under the Discipline of silence is a person who can say what needs to be said when it needs to be said… if we speak when we should be silent, we miss the mark.

Richard J. Foster, Celebration of Discipline

I chose to focus on speech when it comes to the Discipline of silence because that is an area of particular struggle for me. I find myself talking when I know I should be silent, and often get myself into a situation I could have easily avoided by simply remaining quiet. Keeping out of trouble is just one benefit of remaining silent. Another benefit is simply being disciplined. A disciplined person in one area often becomes disciplined in other areas of life more easily, especially if a person is disciplined in speech.

What a marvelous companion is one who listens and shows genuine interest in other people’s lives. Solitude requires me to hear before being heard and an attitude of gratefulness for every opportunity to be silent before God and others.

This discipline is a massive kick in the ass of Western Civilization. I will quote from several places in Richard J. Foster’s chapter on Simplicity:

Simplicity is freedom… simplicity brings joy and balance…

Contemporary culture lacks both the inward reality and the outward life-style of simplicity… We are trapped in a maze of competing attachments…

We crave things we neither need or enjoy… The mass media have convinced us that to be out of step with fashion is to be out of step with reality…

Covetousness we call ambition. Hoarding we call prudence. Greed we call industry.

I am surely not the best person to be telling others to live a more simplistic life, and that is not at all my intention. This discipline is most definitely one I struggle with most. I do not blame my career or the culture I live in, rather I tend to use those things as excuses for a lack of discipline in this area. I enjoy owning the latest in computer technology and knowing all there is to know about the Web industry. I don’t think those things are negative, however, if my time is only dedicated to these things for the purpose of making my own life better and easier, I have missed the point of hard work.

God has given us gifts, and all of us are capable of using those gifts to fill our lives with more stuff. However, God intends for those gifts to be used for helping others and bringing glory to God.

May God give you-and me-the courage, the wisdom, the strength always to hold the kingdom of God as the number-one priority of our lives. To do so is to live in simplicity

Richard J. Foster, Celebration of Discipline

As Richard J. Foster writes in his book, Celebration of Discipline, study involves four steps:

1. Repetition.
   Ingrained habits of thought can be formed by repetition alone, thus changing behavior.
2. Concentration.
   The brains natural ability to store and focus on information is enhanced when, with singleness of purpose, we center our attention upon a desired object of study.
3. Comprehension.
   When we not only repeatedly focus the mind in a particular direction centering our attention of the subject, but understand what we are studying, we reach a new level.
4. Reflection.
   In reflection we come to understand not only our subject matter, but ourselves.

One other thing that is important when practicing the discipline of study is humility. In order to make good and proper use of knowledge, I must approach the subject with a humble spirit. I cannot be teachable and arrogant at the same time.

It is sobering to realize that the very first statement Jesus made about fasting dealt with the question of motive (Matt. 6:16-18). To use good things to our own ends is always the sign of false religion. How easy it is to take something like fasting and try to use it to get God to do what we want.

Richard J. Foster, Celebration of Discipline

When I first took a serious look at the discipline of fasting, I never really thought of it as something necessary for me to practice. However, I decided to do it anyway. I started off fasting for about a day and a half. Then, I fasted for 24 hours once every week for about 10 weeks. What a wonderful experience it was.

During the times that I would have normally been eating, I spent that time alone, meditating or in prayer. God, through His word, revealed to me things that I needed to change in my life.

I think my time of fasting was most effective because I did it out of obedience, rather than to get something from God. I noticed after a few weeks I started to expect God to reveal new things to me, and when he wasn’t, I was going to quit. However, I realized that the purpose of fasting is not necessarily so that God will reveal new things to me, rather it is a time devoted to God in response to recognizing His provision in my life. Foster also notes:

Fasting must forever center on God. It must be God-initiated and God-ordained. Like the prophetess Anna, we need to be “worshiping with fasting” (Luke 2:37). Every other purpose must be subservient to God.

We need not worry that [prayer] will take up too much of our time, for “It takes up no time, but it occupies all our time.” It is not prayer in addition to work but prayer simultaneous with work. We precede, enfold, and follow all our work with prayer.

Richard J. Foster, Celebration of Discipline

I agree 100% with the statement above, however, I still consider it to be of great value to take time, just as Jesus did during his time on earth, to spend in prayer. What Foster is pointing out here is that prayer is not something that should be done only during a dedicated time, rather it should be something we do during our daily tasks so that we may constantly be aware of God’s presence.

Spending dedicated time in prayer, just as with meditation, is part of a healthy Christian life, but more importantly is our call to be in constant communion with God throughout our daily lives.