Self-Control

"Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge, and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness, and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love." -2 Peter 1:5-7

Self-Control - Control or restraint of oneself or one's actions, feelings, etc...
Syn. : calmness, composure, discipline
(Dictionary.com/Thesaurus.com)

"Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God. You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ. But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness." -Romans 8:8-10

"So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be alert and self-controlled." -1 Thessalonians 5:6

"Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed. As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: 'Be holy, because I am holy.' " -1 Peter 1:13-16

"Be self-controlled!" Notice that it doesn't say, "Try to be self-controlled." No, this is a command, given as an imperative. We MUST learn to be self-controlled. This is not an option in a Christian's life. In order to effectively model the life of Christ and to be a strong witness we cannot be tempermental time-bombs. What do I mean by this?

Self-control is a very broad term and covers many aspects of the human life... we are taught, from a very young age, that we must have self-control (or patience) when we are hungry... we must wait for our food. We are also taught early on that we mustn't throw temper tantrums when we don't get our way... we must learn to deal with adversity in a mature manner.

However, when we get to our later years in life, we seem to forget about a lot of these concepts... we become impatient and testy when the traffic doesn't move quickly enough (oooooooooh, did I get you there?), we are quite tempted to utilize that ingenious invention of the car-horn, or to simply mutter under our breath about the lunacy of the incompetent drivers all around us... For some of us though, our tempers are most often tested in one of two places... maybe both: the workplace, or the home. The high-stress environment of work causes many of us to display very ungodly behaviors that do not coinside with our claims to Christianity, and the way we react to situations at home leave us feeling like complete hypocrites... Why?

A very simple, and yet complex, concept... Self-control has very little to do with you! Self-control has more to do with allowing God to take control of the areas in your life in which you fail the most. Our tempers, for example can be most easily controlled when we take them to God and ask that He would help us in these areas. However, do not expect to suddenly have self-control... No, most likely God will give you many many opportunities to exercise self-control. God is quite good at answering our prayers of improvement in the areas of fruit, but not in the ways that we would hope... He allows circumstances to arise in which we are tested... and from these circumstances we learn what it means to have self-control. Again, the best thing you can do is pray... pray that, in the situations that arise, God would remind you that they are opportunities for growth, and that you would see them as such.

We're going to dive much deeper into this in the next few days... For now, though, I would like you to examine yourselves and pray and ask God to show you the areas in which you need to develop self-control. If you have any specific areas you need to work on, be aware of opportunities for growth... God is faithful, and He will give you the chance to grow in these areas.
Also, know that I am right there along side of you... I'm praying too, that God would help me to be a more self-controlled person. Friends, I will admit to you, right here and now, that I struggle with self-control in many areas. I am a very tempermental person sometimes, and it disgusts me to think that I would say one thing and do another. I will be running right there with you, striving to gain a better understanding of this concept of self-control... which, if you haven't noticed, may also require a little bit of a review on patience! It's amazing how tied-together these fruits are...

Friends, pray that God will show you the areas that you do not have very good self-control in... and be ready for whatever occasions might arise for you to grow in those areas. They will come!
Until tomorrow...

Grace and Peace!

Questions or Comments? E-mail me at afflquestions@yahoo.com .