Editorial March 4, 1991 Issue

Discipline and freedom go together

Ann Kenrick

“The disciplined person is the person who can do what needs to be done when it needs to be done. The disciplined person is the person who can live in the appropriateness of the hour…. The disciplined person is the free person.” These words caught my attention. They are by Richard J. Foster in a book called Reasons to Be Glad.Used by permission of the publisher, World Wide Publications.

Many of us would like to accomplish more each day, but there are so many demands on our time that it sometimes seems impossible to fit everything into twenty-four hours. Yet we all know people who manage to stay on top of their work, have plenty of time for their families and friends, and even find opportunities to serve others in their churches and communities. We may wonder how they do it.

Perhaps it’s a question of getting our priorities right and having the ability to really live in “the appropriateness of the hour” and not leave things over to another day. Discipline and order certainly give structure to living and make for harmonious interaction in the family and at the workplace. Such self-discipline has to start in thought, and then it is felt in the minutiae of everyday living. It affects the way we get the children off to school, our punctuality in keeping appointments and deadlines, and our promptness in writing letters and paying all those bills.

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