The question then is: How, precisely, I am to go about doing my
part in the process of my own transformation? What is my plan?
The answer to this question is, in general formulation: By
practice of spiritual disciplines, or disciplines for the
spiritual life. We may not know or use this terminology, but
what it refers to is what we must do.

What is discipline? A discipline is an activity within our
power--something we can do--which brings us to a point where
we can do what we at present cannot do by direct effort.
Discipline is in fact a natural part of the structure of
the human soul, and almost nothing of any significance in
education, culture or other attainments is achieved without
it. Everything from learning a language to weight lifting
depends upon it, and its availability in the human makeup
is what makes the individual human being responsible for
the kind of person they become. Animals may be trained,
but they are incapable of discipline in the sense that is
essential to human life.

The principle of discipline is even more important in the
spiritual life. Once in a seminar a wealthy and influential
leader said to me that he could not help "exploding" when
he tried to talk to his rebellious son. I said, "Of course
you can." He look at me in astonishment and denial. "Just
tell your wife," I continued, "that the next time you blow
up at him you will contribute $5,000 to her favorite
charity, and also every time thereafter." He paused, and
a smile of recognition tugged at the corners of his mouth.
But while this sort of case makes a point, it does not
really convey the main point of discipline in the spiritual
life. Spiritual disciplines are not primarily for the
solving of behavioral problems, though that is one of
their effects. That is why, contrary to popular opinion,
the various "twelve-step" programs are not programs of
spiritual discipline. They are disciplines of course.
Quite precisely, they focus on things we, for the most
part, can do--attend meetings, publicly "own up," call on
others from the group in times of need, etc. etc.--to
enable us to do what we cannot do by direct effort--stay
sober. But staying sober, while desperately important
for the alcoholic, is hardly a mark of spiritual attainment.
The same is true of not exploding at one's son.
The aim of disciplines in the spiritual life--and,
specifically, in the following of Christ--is the transformation
of the total state of the soul. It is the renewal of
the whole person from the inside, involving differences
in thought, feeling and character that may never be manifest
in outward behavior at all. This is what Paul has in mind
when he speaks of putting off the "old man" and putting
on the new, "renewed to resemble in knowledge the one who
created us..." (Col. 3:10) The genius of the moral teachings
of Jesus and his first students was his insistence that
you cannot keep the law by trying not to break the law.
That will only make a Pharisee of you and sink you into
layers of hypocrisy. Instead, you have to be transformed
in the functions of the soul so that the deeds of the law
are a natural outflow of who you have become. This is
"spiritual formation" in the Christian way, and it must
always be kept in mind when we consider Jesus' teachings
about various behaviors--in The Sermon on the Mount and elsewhere.
For example, his famous teaching about turning the other
cheek. If all you intend is to do that, you will find you
can do it with a heart full of bitterness and vengefulness. If,
on the other hand, you become a person who has the interior
character of Christ, remaining appropriately vulnerable will
be done as a matter of course, and you will not think of it
as a "big deal."

An intelligent, balanced, persistent course of the standard
disciplines, well known from the sweep of Christian history
and sources, can serve the individual well and are in fact
essential to the development of her cooperative relationship
with Christ. While they are by no means all that is involved,
not everything in this process, they are indispensable.
They do not take the place, and they cannot be effective
without, the word of the gospel and the movements of the
Spirit of God in our lives. But neither will the gospel
and the Spirit take their place. Some people, of course,
are unable to put them into practice. They are not "in
their power," at least for the time being. Such persons
need help and ministry of various kinds, depending on the
particular case and circumstances. But people who are
not totally shattered, and who have experienced the
"birth from above," can usually, with simple instruction
and encouragement, begin to make real progress toward
wholeness by practices such as solitude and silence,
fasting, scripture memorization, regular times of corporate
and individual praise and worship, and so on. The various
disciplines minister to different and complementary aspects
of our wrongness and brokenness-DW