“Go to the ant, you sluggard; consider its ways and be wise! It has no commander, no overseer or ruler, yet it stores its provisions in summer and gathers its food at harvest.”
Proverbs 6:6-8
What a self-disciplined and self-motivated creature the ant is.
It has no one breathing down its neck and yet it works diligently, planning ahead and doing its job well. Unfortunately, most human beings do not have the self-discipline to behave like that. Unless there is someone watching over us and/or reminding us of impending deadlines, we often will procrastinate and sometimes, not even complete the job required.
For a stay-at-home-mother like me, the temptation to let things slide while I scroll social media or watch Youtube videos. And I believe most SAHMs deal with this temptation too. Unless you have an ogre for a husband, we really do not have a “real” boss to answer to And that actually is the crux of the problem.
Where is our Self-Discipline?
Most of us just simply aren’t motivated to do our best when there is no one watching. Laziness is inherent in all of us. It is part of our sinful nature. We really need to train it out of us.
Without self-discipline, nothing will ever get done around the house. And we will always be giving excuses as to why things are either left undone or uncompleted in the home. And with many young children in the house, I can assure you that I probably have used up all the excuses out there.
The Lack of Self-Discipline Backfires on Me
But in the end, the one who suffers most is me. When I lack self-discipline and am ill-disciplined, the house devolves into a mess (entropy at its finest!) and I can’t function properly in it. Clutter affects us mentally, not just physically.
My mood is then affected and I am often found lashing out at the children and the husband. My house is no longer haven of peace and love, but one of strife and mess. All because I am not self-disciplined enough to get going. What sort of a testimony am I for the Lord?
Antidote to the Lack of Self-Discipline
“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.”
Colossians 3:23-24
The best antidote to this state of affairs is to remember WHO we are doing our work for. Our “boss” is God. Paul reminds us in the verse above that “It is the Lord Christ (we) are serving.” And not only that, we are to do our work not in a slipshod manner but to do it well, to “work at it with all (our) hearts”.
Even when no one is watching or knows what we are doing at home, the Lord is watching and knows. We need to have ingrained in us the spirit of excellence.
Every time I feel lazy, I give myself a pep talk to stop moping and just get on with it, remembering who I am serving. A little reward at the end of the job helps too.
Pro-Tip
Daily and small pickups around the housework better than one big cleanup once a month.
Train Self-Discipline in our Children Too
Since laziness is inherent in all of us, as we train ourselves to be diligent like the ant, we also need to train our children to be self-disciplined. We will have to be their “boss” and make sure that whatever we ask them to do is done and done properly. This will train them to always do a job well from young so that it slowly becomes second nature to them.
We Can Be Self-Disciplined
When we are self-disciplined, we can then be able to say NO to our flesh more easily. And this ties in with what I shared before in Say NO To Our Flesh. We need to keep on saying no to our flesh if we want to walk in and be led by the Spirit.
Developing self-discipline is one way we can achieve it. Coupled with lots of prayers. Let us do everything as unto the Lord with a spirit of excellence and give glory to Him who has placed us in our families to shine the light of Jesus.
Related Posts
Daily Pickups Maintain Order in Our Large Family
Use Habit Trackers for Consistency
Productivity Hacks for Mothers
What is Self-Discipline by Ligonier Ministries