SPIRITUAL DISCIPLINE

Discipline - the practice of training people to obey rules or a code of behavior, using punishment to
correct disobedience.

There was a time that i'm at school, the rules are if it's an exam day, you're not allowed to wear a P.E
uniform. I was a newly transfered student from a Private school into a Public school so I have no idea
what's gonna happen but all i know is that it's a huge difference.

Exam day came, I was really excited. I reviewed a lot and focused all night studying. It was friday and
every friday, all of the students are wearing their P.E uniforms. All morning i was thinking that i'm ready
to go and do all my exams. I was so excited and didn't even realized i was wearing my P.E uniform until
i'm 1 minute away from my school. Then all of a sudden i remembered that we are not allowed to wear
P.E uniforms every exam days. My mind starts to overthink. "What if the teacher won't allow me to take
my exam?", "What if i cant enter the gate in my school?" "What if my classmates would make fun of
me?" But i kept my head up high and ran into my classroom.

When I got there, Everyone is wearing a regular uniform. I'm the only one that's wearing a P.E uniform.
Everybody keeps staring at me. Some of them are laughing and one of my friends archie came up to me
and said, "You remember it's exam day right?" I said "Yeah i was just very excited and it's friday."

Then time came. Our teacher came and handed out our exams for us to answer. She didn't look at me
and didn't realize i'm wearing my P.E uniform. I was sweating, my hands and feet are cold, i can feel it.
Until i heard my name coming from the teacher saying, "Mr.Pelina!, WHY ARE YOU WEARING A PE
UNIFORM?"

I forgot to tell you guys that before in my school, if you're wearing a P.E uniforms on Monday-Thursday,
you're gonna have to pay 5 pesos and that's a big amount coming out of my pocket money. The money
gathered from students who are disobeying the rules, i don't know where they go but i'm sure it's for the
school's good.

So, I told my teacher "Sorry maam, I was just very excited to go to school and answer my exams, and
didn't realize that i'm wearing my P.E uniform"

She said, "Did nobody told you about the rules here?"

I said, "I know the rules maam but like i said i was just excited. If I have to pay, I'll pay"

She said, "Mr. Pelina, you should be more disciplined. You can't pay for discipline"
What she said didn't sink in til later but i know what she meant. That was a really good lesson for me
that day. And I won't forget her name. All school year, that was one of the days i'd never forget.

Spiritual discipline makes us spiritually fit. It's in the Bible, I Timothy 4:7-8, TLB. "Don't waste time
arguing over foolish ideas and silly myths and legends. Spend your time and energy in the exercise of
keeping spiritually fit. Bodily exercise is all right, but spiritual exercise is much more important and is a
tonic for all you do. So exercise yourself spiritually, and practice being a better Christian because that will
help you not only now in this life, but in the next life too."

What does spiritual discipline do for us? It helps us focus on running the race of life. It's in the Bible, I
Corinthians 9:24, TLB. "In a race everyone runs, but only one person gets first prize. So run your race to
win."

Spiritual discipline strips away the nonessentials. It's in the Bible, Hebrews 12:1, TLB. "Since we have
such a huge crowd of men of faith watching us from the grandstands, let us strip off anything that slows
us down or holds us back, and especially those sins that wrap themselves so tightly around our feet and
trip us up; and let us run with patience the particular race that God has set before us."