Self-Control

For Thursday, September 27, 2007
Proverbs 25:28

A man without self-control
is like a city broken into and left without walls.

Lack of self-control renders a person defenseless. It is self-control that allows him to keep his wits about him. Self-control gives him the discernment to know what to do and what to say. Lack of self-control gives him over to his emotions so that he acts blindly and exposes his vulnerable side. Lack of self-control leads him to actions that will result in retribution.

Recently the best hitter of a playoff baseball team lost his self-control at an umpire. He went into such a rage that his manager had to wrestle with him to hold him back. He fell and injured himself so that he cannot finish the season when he is needed the most by his team.

We blame our lack of self-control on outside forces - on another person who enraged us or on circumstances that were "impossible" to deal with. But the very term "self-control" belies the cause being outside. Our problem is not with being unable to control outside forces but the inside force of our hearts.

The sad truth is that we cannot fully control our hearts. Some of us are more successful than others in controlling our expressions; some of us have learned patience. But the kind of self-control needed to guard our sinful passions is not ours to claim. We must look to the Holy Spirit to guard our hearts. We must pray daily to the Lord to keep us from straying. Good intentions will not give us the self-control needed. Only the transforming power of the Holy Spirit can do that kind of work.

Pray today for self-control. You don't know what will happen, and it is certain that your Adversary will try to bring out your sinful passions. Pray for protection by the Holy Spirit and that he will give to you the strength at the time needed to exercise control and to turn what could have been meant for evil into something that brought about good.