Do you do what needs to be done when it needs to be done? (143-5)

Often a leader’s success can be created by simply doing what no one else is willing to do. Read Proverbs 31:10-31.

In many situations people know what to do but are too tired or afraid or apathetic to act. That’s when a self-disciplined leader who is equally tired, equally afraid steps forward and does what needs to be done. A person with self-discipline will provide leadership when others simply refuse to act.

Self-discipline may be defined simply as that quality that allows a person to do what needs to be done when they don’t feel like doing it. Some of self-discipline’s attributes are demonstrated in Proverbs 31 by the wife of noble character. The woman described in Proverbs teaches some important things about self-discipline and leadership:

Her Assets:

• She is trustworthy (v. 11).
• She is a positive influence (v. 12).
• She is a hard worker (vs. 13, 14, 19, 24-27).
• She is a planner (vs. 21).
• She is protective (v. 27).

Her Attitude:

• Delightful (vs. 11-12)
• Healthy (vs. 17-19)
• Compassionate (v. 20)
• Unselfish (v. 20)

The woman described in Proverbs 31 is a leader because of her self-discipline. That self-discipline has given her recognition as a leader not only by those in her family but in the entire community.

2 Timothy 1:7 “For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.”