SEIZE SELF-CONTROL

Proverbs 25:28 “Like a city whose walls are broken down is a man who lacks self-control.”

Each of the different characteristics of the fruit of the spirit focuses on how we respond to God and how we treat other people. Joy and faithfulness are expressed vertically while peace, patience, kindness, goodness and gentleness bear directly on how we interact with others. And love, which has both a horizontal and vertical dimension.

Nestled among the fruit of the spirit is the seemingly out-of-place fruit of self-control. This characteristic of a Christ-follower seems to focus more on me instead of on my relationships with other people. I can exercise self-control when I’m the only person in the house. In fact, sometimes the hidden, private moments when no one else is looking is precisely when I need self-control the most.

However, if we properly exercise the fruit of self-control, it will benefit those around us. In some ways, we might consider this virtue the most important because without self-control the works of the flesh cannot be overcome and the other elements of the fruit of the spirit will not be evident.

When the Greeks wanted to illustrate self-control, they built a statue of a man or a woman in perfect proportion. To them, self-control was the proper ordering and balancing of the individual. Aristotle once said, “I count him braver who overcomes his desires than him who conquers his enemies; for the hardest victory is the victory over self.” Plato believed that our animal urges must be governed or else they will produce “a feverish state in the soul, a city of pigs” which knows no limits. When we’re not self-controlled, our life is like a pigsty.

The word translated “self-control” in the NIV is rendered “temperance” in the King James Version. It comes from the word “strength” and means, “one who holds himself in.” To be self-controlled is to not live in bondage to the desires, passions and appetites of the flesh. My body is a good servant but a miserable master.

Is it possible to display self-control in our self-centered and self-seeking culture? Most all of us need it and want it, but some of us may feel like there’s no hope. Perhaps you’ve tried to control these areas before but have struck out so many times that you just feel like giving up.

In his excellent book, Celebration of Discipline, Richard Foster writes: “Our ordinary method of dealing with ingrained sin is to launch a frontal attack. We rely on our willpower and determination. Whatever may be the issue for us – anger, fear, bitterness, gluttony, pride, lust, substance abuse –we determine never to do it again; we pray against it, fight against it, and set our will against it. But the struggle is all in vain, and we find ourselves once again morally bankrupt…”

Let’s face it. We’ve been created with a multitude of moods, passions, and desires. They all need managing. They must be under control or they will end up controlling us. Lewis Smedes says that self-control is like the “conductor of a symphony orchestra.” Under the conductor’s baton the multitude of talented musicians can play the right notes at the right time at the right volume so that everything sounds just right.

Likewise, our appetites and longings have their proper place. Self-control is the Holy Spirit’s baton in our hearts under whose skillful direction everything stays in its proper place and comes in at just the right time. To be self-controlled is to be Spirit-controlled.

There is no way we can develop self-control on our own. There are more than enough things pulling us back into unrestrained living. The good news is that you don’t have to give in to them, or into your own desires. As you submit and surrender to the Spirit’s control, you can experience freedom and power that you’ve not seen before.