May 08 2009
Self-Control
Also known as self-discipline, it’s an aspect of life that I’ve always struggled with. By nature, I’m selfish, emotional, and reckless. Those bad traits have driven me to look for things that offered instant gratification, such as buy useless gadgets, watch pornography, eat junk food, etc. I used to think it was a struggle that no one could understand. The bible proves that it’s a very common problem:
But every person is tempted when he is drawn away, enticed and baited by his own evil desire (lust, passions).
This world is inherently evil. Sin lurks in every corner. Satan has dominion over this earth and it shows by the kinds of temptations available everywhere.
But God is good. He gives me the strength to bear these temptations. He gives me the wisdom to know when to say NO to evil. He gives me grace to forgive me when I fall flat on my face after tripping from sin. God knows how weak I am. I’m holding on to His promise of hope that I can handle this:
No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.
If I had to look back in my teenage and college years, I could use a lot of self-control and discipline. I wouldn’t have wasted a lot of my life on stupid decisions. However, God calls me and constant me reminds me to keep my eye on Jesus. He is my prize, my end-game, my eternal salvation.
Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
