In his Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life, Donald Whitney addresses the possibility of drudgery entering into the practice of spiritual discipline. I have not done well in keeping up with all the spiritual disciplines Whitney lists and perhaps it is because I have feared drudgery. However, drudgery need not enter into disciplining one’s self for godliness when the proper focus is in view.
Discipline without direction is drudgery. But the Spiritual Disciplines are never drudgery as long as we practice them with the goal of Godliness in mind. If your picture of a disciplined Christian is one of a grim, tight-lipped, joyless half-robot, then you’ve missed the point. Jesus was the most disciplined Man who ever lived and yet the most joyful and passionately alive. He is our Example of discipline. Let us follow Him to joy through the Spiritual Disciplines.
Source: Donald S Whitney. Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life (Kindle Locations 180-183). Kindle Edition.
