This week’s blog is a modification of an excerpt from Chapter 2 of Unbeatable! Seven Pillars of Personal Excellence
One Proverb
“The labourer’s appetite works for him; his hunger drives him on.” Proverbs 16:26
One Principle
Hunger is powerful. It can cause a person to reach incredible heights, depending on the extent of their hunger. Consider what it is like if you’ve ever fasted in your life and the time to break your fast is approaching. There is anticipation. There is excitement. There is drive. Nothing will stop you from attacking your refrigerator at 6:00pm to satisfy that craving having denied yourself of food for the past twelve, eighteen or twenty-four hours.
In the same way that a worker is motivated by the thought of reaping the rewards of his labour or that a fasting person is motivated by the thought of a sumptuous dinner, your appetite can really push you towards your goal. The only question, though, is whether that goal is a noble or ignoble one. If you pursue that which is upright and wholesome, the final outcome can be glorious. Conversely, if you seek to satisfy selfish ends it could lead to disaster. In last week’s blog The Ego Dilemma, we reflected together on the dilemma posed by ego’s seemingly insatiable hunger for self-exaltation.
Has the year 2020 caused you to reflect honestly on your true inner motivations? Perhaps God wants all of us to reinvigorate an appetite for things that are eternal, spiritual and transcendent, pursuits which are deeper and more meaningful than secular achievements.
What are you hungry for today? What really drives you on day by day? The disciplined life is one centred on self-restraint and the delay of gratification. To cultivate such a lifestyle will take disciplining our appetites and bringing them in submission to higher principles of personal excellence fuelled by divine guidance.
One Practical
Choose one day in the upcoming seven days to fast from a meal, whether breakfast, lunch or dinner. When you get hungry, repeat this prayer or you can use your own words to similar effect: “Lord, grant me an appetite for the things that truly matter.”
To learn more about these pillars of personal excellence, read UNBEATABLE! which is now available on Amazon in print and as an e-book.
