(Posted by Nick Duke)
Written by Kent Hughes
Sweat, sweat, sweat, and a little more sweat. This is the most basic message of ‘The Disciplines of a Godly Man’. R. Kent Hughes starts out with a few good examples of men who are very successful. He shows us Winston Churchill, Leonardo da Vinci, Ernest Hemmingway and Thomas Edison. They all had one thing in common – success. Below that, their greater commonality was how they achieved success in their chosen fields – discipline, hard work, sweat.
As Christian men, we are called to serve God, to labour in His harvest field, and as with any other man, success is almost invariably had where discipline and hard work is to be found. Read Proverbs, ‘The soul of the sluggard craves and gets nothing, while the soul of the diligent is richly supplied.’ And Paul says ‘train yourselves for godliness’.
Why do they say this? Why does Hughes beat into the mind that without discipline in our relationships (both God and others), without disciplining ourselves to read the word and diligently pray, without discipline in our jobs and in working together for the Kingdom of God, we will invariably fall short. This is not to reject the idea that it is only grace that saves, but rather to say that, by grace we are able to grow into a greater likeness of Christ, and this through discipline.
In conclusion, if you are willing to be challenged, if you are willing to say no to laziness and instead to sweat for Christ and the expansion of His Kingdom, but don’t know where to start, this book is for you. I have had my life picked to shreds by it, and in the rebuilding I have grown much. I hope you appreciate it as much as I.
Reviewed by Alex Mead