The first night that Miyagi agrees to teach Daniel karate, he gives Daniel the first lesson: Karate is not in hands or hips, it is in your heart.
The first lesson in Christian discipleship is that the focus is not on what you do, but who you are. Doing what is right easily flows out of being the right kind of person. While we speak so much about grace and life, and say it’s not about works, we then act as if it is exactly about works, mostly in traditions not even found in the scripture. The main goal of Christianity is to change the heart of the person so that the actions will change, as well. If there is no change of heart, actions can look similar but have no spirituality to them whatsoever.
Miyagi takes Daniel the next day out to the Cobra Kai dojo to confront the teacher and students at the school. Miyagi makes a deal with the school that they cannot fight with Daniel until the tournament, which Cobra Kai always wins. Essentially, Miyagi doesn’t fight Daniel’s battle for him, only postpones it until Daniel is properly trained.
This is another important step in true discipleship. So often young, zealous individuals are thrown to the wolves without an inch of discipleship. God desires a safe place where the young in Christ can be discipled, challenged. The conflict will be there later. First we need some training in what it means to be a Christian. Then we can be loosed on the world, so to speak.
Next we see that Daniel is brought to Miyagi’s house. Miyagi has this whole other world that Daniel was totally ignorant of. He has a yard full of old classic cars. He has a Japanese style house. His back yard is an immaculate garden. Daniel sees that this man has character, individuality, has built things that took time, intention, endurance.
Fathers in the faith need these testimonies, too. They’ve lived lives of integrity and intention. They’ve built things, done things, that took time and commitment. They’ve been faithful with things. This is what it means to be a man of God, and the young need to see this in true fathers in the faith.
And here is where the training starts. Right after the “squished-grape” speech that I dealt with in the last installment, Miyagi gives Daniel a bucket and sponge and tells him to wash all the cars. Daniel washes all the cars.
Next, Miyagi tells Daniel to wax all the cars, one hand wax on in a circle, other hand wax off in a circle. Daniel waxes the cars.
Daniel spends the next week or so following Miyagi’s direction (he committed to doing whatever Miyagi said). After waxing the cars he paints the fence, paints the house, then sands the wooden floor of the garden in the back yard, each time with specific instructions on method and form and an occasional “good job” by Miyagi.
This is one of the most famous parts of the movie. Miyagi comes home one night and Daniel is upset. He feels neglected, used. He isn’t learning karate, he’s working on all of Miyagi’s stuff!
In a brilliant scene, it all comes together. First Miyagi has to heal Daniel because Daniel is too sore to move his arm. Now he can move his arm. Miyagi says, “Show me wax the car.” Daniel begins to go through the motions and Miyagi firmly says, “Show me wax the car!” Each activity was designed to show Daniel an important method of defense and blocking the attack of the enemy, different punches and kicks. Daniel is amazed as it all comes together. He’s been learning things he didn’t know he was learning.
Do you see what Miyagi did to him? He made Daniel a servant first. He put Daniel in a position of servitude to teach him through seemingly meaningless tasks. But those seemingly meaningless tasks actually taught him how to defend against any attack.
This is huge. The first thing a disciple needs to learn how to do, after the commitment, is to serve. If someone in the Body is not willing to humble himself and serve, he is not ready to become like Christ.
Think about it. Jesus came from the right hand of God, was born in a cave with animals, was obedient to his parents, and suffered at the hands of evil men, all the while serving many who would end up calling for his crucifixion. This is humility and service. What did Jesus do before his to teach the twelve about leadership? He took on the place of a slave and washed their feet. The Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve.
And the first seven that were called forward for leadership during a crisis in the Church in Acts, what did they do, filled with the Holy Spirit? Served bread to widows.
The first step in spiritual maturity is not seminary-type education but learning how to be humble and serve. If you’re not willing to serve, we don’t need to disciple you.
Of course this gets frustrating. It seems useless, worthless, meaningless. But look what it teaches! This humility and this heart of a servant teaches us how to defend against any attack of the enemy. Most of the armor of God Paul describes is purely defensive.
Humility and service change who we are. Miyagi was changing Daniel’s heart with mindless work so that Daniel would learn karate from the right perspective. The Christian must learn service and humility, a true changed heart, the absence of selfish pride and the flesh that wants its own desires met at a whim, so that we can learn to actually follow the God we say we believe in, because that’s who he is.
So if you’re in a seemingly meaningless season in your life, you’re not alone. God is teaching you important things through the midst of it. Just ask Joseph in prison or Moses tending sheep for forty years. God teaches in the midst of the mundane. Fathers in the faith should teach Christians that the most useful skill in the Kingdom is not to read the latest book by the latest guru but to hear the voice of God in the midst of the mundane, to have faith that God is doing a good work despite the meaninglessness of it.
Because then the training can continue. More basics need to be learned.
Peace.