A good friend and I have decided to follow through on the suggestion I made a little while ago about looking at the fruit of the spirit, one by one, over a period of time. Just to be different, we’ve decided to start back to front! So, starting this month, we’re considering self-control.
It’s certainly not an easy one for me. I’ve never been one for self-discipline despite many enthusiastic commitments and beginnings paved with good intentions. I’ve learnt over time, not to set my sights too high or expect too much from myself so that I don’t feel like a failure or disappointment. Yet surely that’s wrong and giving in to a lesser, more defeated life rather than one with evidence of victory. I’m writing this without any profound revelation containing the secret to success because I still continually struggle. At the moment it is more specifically to do with my physical health and fitness ... what I eat and how little I exercise massively impact my well-being, my ability to engage in certain activities that I’d like to and sadly does still affect my self image I’m ashamed to say.
Why can’t I take myself in hand and put some healthy controls and boundaries in place? I can, and I have done before, but I fail to persevere to effect a lasting change. It’s extremely annoying.
There are many other examples in our lives where we struggle to maintain boundaries and self-control. It could be our tempers; our keenness to gossip about and judge others or maybe a moral dilemma ... how about managing our screen and social media time, are we able to control it and put our phones down? I’ve faced many examples and miserably failed. There’s also the other side, not about trying to control what we shouldn’t do, but rather, putting in place and following through on good habits, like specific prayer time and reading the Bible, not just the odd ‘verse for the day’ on email (like I do). I realise that to overcome and to lessen the likelihood of caving in, I need God’s truth hidden in my heart and His armour to protect me. A strong wall which is able to withstand any enemy advancement ... no cracks or weak spots to enable demolition! I’m not strong enough on my own ... in fact I’m quite likely to almost help with my own defeat by widening the cracks through my own weakness.
A couple of months ago there was a piece written in the UCB word for today which I’ll share here as it’s helpful, especially in relation to maintaining our spiritual standing:
A Christian leader writes: ‘The Great Wall of China was erected in the third century BC as a defence against raids by nomadic peoples from the north. Throughout succeeding centuries, especially during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), the Great Wall was repaired and extended in length, finally stretching for forty-five-hundred miles.’ Centuries before it began, biblical cultures used walls to protect themselves, and to draw boundaries around themselves for the purposes of identifying the land which was theirs. To be effective, however, those walls had to be regularly maintained. The slightest breach could give the enemy a fateful advantage.
There is a valuable lesson here. As a Christian, there is one wall in your defence system that has to be maintained and protected at all times – the wall of self-control. The Bible says, ‘Whoever has no rule over his own spirit is like a city broken down, without walls’ (Proverbs 25v28). Your failure to maintain self-control is like opening the city gates and issuing an invitation to the enemy to attack you. J. Wilbur Chapman, one of history’s great preachers, formulated what he called ‘my rule for Christian living’. And it’s a rule you should endeavour to live by. He said, ‘The rule that governs my life is this: anything that dims my vision of Christ, or takes away my taste for Bible study, or cramps my prayer life, or makes Christian work difficult, is wrong for me, and I must, as a Christian, turn away from it.’
I need to step out of my immediate concerns and ready myself to take the next step ... one which is achievable, wholesome, beneficial, healthy, sustainable and God honouring. Then with His help and His truth at the forefront of my thinking, I can and will prevail. The battle may be rather constant, but the victory can be too. ‘The person who succeeds is not the one who holds back, fearing failure, nor the one who never fails, but rather the one who moves on despite failure’.
As children we used to listen to music from Agapeland, amongst which was the Music Machine. One of the songs was about self-control and the words went something like this:
I like this quote by Benjamin Franklin: “Educate your children to self-control, to the habit of holding passion and prejudice and evil tendencies subject to an upright and reasoning will, and you have done much to abolish misery from their future and crimes from society.”
At the end of the day, if God in His word says that we should exercise self-control and that it is actually a fruit of the Spirit (His Spirit) then it must be jolly important and as such, we should take note and start working away at it. It requires attention and commitment, and should then become evidence of the life of Christ in me ... which is what fruit is ... external evidence of what I truly am on the inside.
Harumph! Let’s do this!
I’m just going to add a song here which isn’t specifically relating to self-control but the words are so moving and uplifting too ... I find them such an encouragement because throughout my on-going struggle with some aspects of self-control, I know that in my weakness His strength is made perfect and that when I overcome, it is not I, but Christ in me! He has already defeated my sins / failures, so if I can cling onto that and to His power in me, then I can truly experience the freedom and victory He so desperately wants me to have.
Yet not I, but through Christ in me ~ Selah:
https://youtube.com/watch?v=rNXd0KQaYXg&feature=share
Ingrid x
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