die Besonnenheit (pl. Besonnenheiten) – self-discipline
IPA: [bəˈzɔnənhaɪ̯t]
Besonnenheit bezeichnet, im Unterschied zur Impulsivität, die überlegte, selbstbeherrschte Gelassenheit, die besonders auch in schwierigen oder heiklen Situationen den Verstand die Oberhand behalten lässt, um vorschnelle und unüberlegte Entscheidungen oder Taten zu vermeiden.
Besonnenheit means (in contrast to impulsiveness) the deliberate, self-controlled composure that, especially in difficult or delicate situations, gives the mind the upper hand to avoid rash and imprudent decisions or deeds.
[Source: Wikipedia]
2. Timotheus 1,7 Denn Gott hat uns nicht einen Geist der Furchtsamkeit gegeben, sondern der Kraft und der Liebe und der Besonnenheit.
2 Timothy 1:7 For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.
What really is the word that is being translated as Besonnenheit? σωφρονισμοῦ (sóphronismos) is a concept that doesn’t really have a single translation into English or German. There is even an English Wikipedia article on this concept; the German one is linked above.
In English, it can be translated as self-control or self-discipline. In fact, this is the translation that resonates with me the most, which is why I chose it for the title.
I once remarked to my dad about how some of the people I know who really live for Christ can be so disciplined.
At the time, there was a guest speaker who was visiting and was sharing with us his ministry.
I was still ironing out my daily routine and schedule, and trying to adhere to it.
I am, in my natural state, very lazy and undisciplined. Apathy and laziness, well, those can be wielded by the devil to ensure that we don’t do anything for Christ, or anything at all.
I have found that it helps to have a schedule, and to have some measure of discipline.
A lot of time is wasted, unless you have to consider carefully what you must do, and then set aside time to do it.
My routine tasks were not only for the spiritual, but more of the other areas of my life: health and fitness, language learning, technical skills in terms of coding, music…
And so, it was that I made the remark about how some people can be so disciplined to my dad.
He pointed me to this verse, and so now, every day, I pray for strength to have the discipline to do what I ought to do.
(And yes, sometimes, it also means asking for strength to keep writing posts even when it feels like there isn’t anything to write about.)
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