It is one of those slices of the proverbial "fruit" that gives evidence of faith and the Holy Spirit in our lives. It seems to be a never-ending battle to attain it. It takes restraint. It's an exercise of will over desire...of thought over impulse. Self-control is one of those words we either love or hate. We envy it in others and long for it ourselves.
The Lord gives the Holy Spirit to His adopted ones--we are exhorted "to be filled with the Spirit". The fruit of the Spirit is evidence of a healthy relationship with our LORD.
"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law." Galatians 5:22-23
Paul tells us to practice love. It takes a concerted effort on our part to surrender our weakness, to remove things in our lives which cause us to fail to exhibit love--bitterness, anger, hatred, evil thoughts, grudges, unforgiveness. As we relinquish those things, put aside those things, then love is visible--as is the Spirit of God in our lives.
Self-control is no more automatic than love.
The more disciplined we are in our lives, the more challenges we may face to disrupt that discipline. The less love we have, the more chances we are given to exhibit love. The more love we have, the more joy we receive, the more joy we receive, the greater peace we know. The more we develop these attributes in our lives, the more forbearance we show, the more kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control we have. To be filled, we need to be emptied. Paul writes:
"Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry.Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. But now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips." Colossians 3:5-8
I posted a list of verses and passages about self-control at Devotional Christian(/link). As I researched verses I found one thing true in all of them; self-control is a virtue. It is a discipline of one's entire person. It is preventive medicine for many of man's emotional, physical, mental, and spiritual woes. It is a process of yielding to God all that we are.
It is a choice...to exhibit that which we have, to build upon it, to exercise it. Or we can ignore it's call on our lives and live in total abandon to our own desires--regardless of what others think or say. Regardless of consequences.
Self-control is not forced upon us, but instead a relinquishing of our will to God's in obedience to His Word and the principles taught through His Word. Self-control listens to the Holy Spirit's directions and convictions.
It is most interesting in our quest to control ourselves, that the Lord adds an element of choice. We have the choice to control our tongue, our words, our actions, indeed our feelings and thoughts. It's up to us to live out a life of control, abstinence, temperance, and sober-mindedness. When we choose disobedience, we lack self-control and our indulgence comes with consequences.
Of course our greatest example of self-control is our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ. Indeed, how better to visualize this attribute, this concerted effort, this predetermined disposition, than to look at Jesus?
Jesus was tempted by Satan in the wilderness, hammered by the Jewish leaders on the legitimacy of His authority to preach, to heal, to forgive and minister to the multitudes of people. There are no temptations given to man in which Jesus was not tempted to indulge. Yet, Jesus exhibited complete self-control. And we, as Christians, have the mind of Christ. We just need to use His mind instead of ours more often than not. (But that's another post.) selahV
