With those words Guinevere (who bears a striking resemblence to Julia Ormond) is taken to a nearly empty room in the castle. After being there only a short while, in strides King Arthur. (It is amazing how much he, in feature and voice looks like Sean Connery.) After dismissing his court, the two stand close, simply looking at each other. Finally, the King breaks the silence:
"I ask you not to lie to me, even if you think you'll hurt me... Have you given yourself to him"
"No, My Lord."
"Do you love him?"
"Yes."
"How did I fail you?"
"You've never failed me, My Lord."
"I saw your face as you kissed him."
"Love has many faces. I look on you differently, but not with less love."
"When a woman loves two men, she must choose between the two."
"I choose you."
"Your will chooses me. Your heart chooses him."
"My will is stronger than my heart. Do you think I put so high a price on my feelings? They'll pass. My will holds me to my course through life."
"As mine does me, and yet, all I have to do is look at you - and everything I ever believed in fades to nothing. All I want is your love."
"You have it."
"Do I? Do I?"
- - - - - - - - - -
The will and the heart. To put it another way, desire and discipline. I know, it is best if we could give God both. But if for some reason, that were not possible, which is the better? If we have the passion for God, the discipline of following Him will come easily and naturally, so is the desire greater? However, our emotions will follow our habits. To establish the habit, the discipline of a thing is a sure way of helping to generate the desire for it. Or will it? After all the Pharisees had discipline down great and look at where it got them. You could counter, though, that the armies, Catholic and Protestant, of the hundred years war had all desire and no discipline and look at their barren fruits.
This question has been bouncing around my head all weekend and I have no answer. So I throw it out to you, the blog reader. Which is better: desire or discipline? Why?
When a heart has been captive for a lifetime because of the tender love of another, yet obedience to the Lord our God has spared us this joy... only heaven holds the answer.
if you have the desire you will find the discipline.
if you have the discipline you will find the desire
the human failing of "feelings" is what the question is. we may not feel like cooking, but that doesn't mean we don't like to, or that we won't. when we replace temporary desire (temptation) with permanent desire (to do whats right) than we become confused.
it's like a diet. wich is desire wich is feeling?
1. i should to lose weight
2. man, i just can't live this way. the only way i can change how i live is change how i live.
I feel desire is before discipline. When you get desire for someone then discipline will follow. When you fall in love with someone e.g. God, then you will do anything for that person, whether its what they ask you to do even if you dont agree at the time. If the desire is strong then you will WANT to learn more about that person and discapline yourself to study them, which in turn helps the desire grow stronger over time. Such as reading the bible everyday, or praying and listening to what God wants you to do.
Without spending too much time on the question, my initial thoughts are focused on "discipline" being better. Because discipline is what leads one to do what one's desires may tell one not to do. In other words, when my alarm goes off in the morning my desire is to stay in bed a little longer; however, my discipline causes me to get out of bed, contrary to my desire. Desire is very much desired though!
hm...
I think what one ultimately needs is the Holy Spirit. After all, discpline (self-control?) is a fruit of the Holy Spirit. "Knowledge of the Holy One is understanding" (desire?), and understanding comes by the Holy Spirit.
I'm just throwing out what is popping in my head. I'm not really trying to explain it all to well.
Here's a few that came directly to me (or were part of a longer email)...
I'll give you a simple answer. Jesus said go and make desciples of all the nations. Desire comes and goes. Discipline is a willful life stile. I have to assume, from God's perspective, discipline is what benfits over the long haul.
Regarding your blog, I think the two are inseperable. You can't truely have one without the other. Other than living a legalistic faith, a relationship with God cannot truely exist without desire and discipline. One is a feeling, the other an action. There will never be feelings without actions, and never actions without feelings. If you love God, but don't act on it, is that truely loving God? If you check off a list of religious requirements, but don't have a heart for God, is that really having a relationship with him? You may have religion, but I don't think you necessarily have God. So, again, I say the two are inseperable.
Desire. He said he will give us the desires of our heart. So we should desire Him first.
