It’s the fifth day of the new year, and it’s time to reconsider my priorities and rearrange my lifestyle, particularly where food is concerned. But even if you’re okay with your weight, reading this post can help you with other areas of life where you might find yourself lacking in discipline.

Originally written as an entry in my Purple Poppin journal, January 5, 2018.

If you need help making your New Year’s Resolutions stick this year, consider the following revelations I’ve been pondering in my journal:

These points could go on indefinitely, but the important takeaway is this:

With freedom also comes bondage.

Even the Apostle Paul said, “I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me” (Romans 7:21).

Seeing we have this catch-22 dilemma, what then is the crucial element that tips the scales in our favor?

In a word: Discipline.

Imagine a set of scales, similar to the scales of justice, like the ones below:

Now, imagine the word Freedom in the left tray and the word Bondage in the right tray. Both are equal in balance, always fighting for an advantage over the other.

Now, add the word Discipline to the left tray with Freedom. What happens? The scales tip in favor of Freedom, much as they would for Bondage had the word Laziness been added to its side.

Which side do you want to be on?

It’s the addition of discipline that enables us to conquer the bondage which accompanies freedom. I didn’t know how much of a slave I’d been to food until recently. It’s been the freedom to eat whatever I've wanted—without discipline as a guide—that’s caused me to live in bondage to food all my life.

The statement made by the Way, the Truth, and the Life Himself—Jesus Christ—rings true even today: “Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:32-33). To “make free” means to liberate. Without discipline, we are captives to the lusts and desires of our flesh, “servants of sin,” as Jesus also says in verse 33.

The same can be said for God’s laws. God doesn’t make laws and rules to punish or enslave us; rather, He tells us—nay, warns us—of laws that are already in place so we can be truly free by knowing the truth of their existence and, ultimately, the consequences of not abiding by them.

So, when all is said and done, possessing discipline allows us to conquer our enslavements. More specifically, in my case (and many others’) regarding weight-loss, the following disciplines apply:

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