Self-Control

Self-Control:  restraint exercised over one's own impulses, emotions, or desires

I desire a dessert-type snack at 10:45 p.m. I curb my urges and do not drive into town for a Snicker's Bar. I use staples from my kitchen and butter a flour tortilla, sprinkle it with cinnamon and sugar, and broil it. That is my definition of self-control.

I arrive home from work and hear a message on my answering machine. The message is from a doctor's office in Santa Barbara asking Paul (not the apostle Paul) to call them at his earliest convenience. I have an impulse to call the office and ask them, "Why the hell are you calling me?" Instead, I exercise restraint and settle for a glass of wine. Again, self-control.

I am stressed because of work, kids, money, etc. Take your pick. I feel like going to Kohl's after work for some retail therapy, however, budget cutbacks suggest that I consider a different route. So instead, I drive home, get in bed at 6:30 p.m. and proceed to watch six hours of NCIS. That is some self-control!

All seriousness aside, what is God's definition of self-control? I am asking myself this because I am lacking in this particular fruit of the Spirit. I have self-control in some areas of my life - I rarely lose my temper, I typically finish what I start, I get my work done before I play, I apply lotion every day, etc. However, I am well aware that there are other times when self-control is completely missing. Those times usually involve eating, exercising (actually not exercising), and watching too much television. At least that's what I thought. I decided to dig a little and see what the Bible had to say about self-control.

In Acts 24, Paul was brought up on charges of being a "troublemaker" and had to appear before the governor, Felix. Paul spoke to Felix about "righteousness, self-control, and the judgement to come." That struck me. Righteousness and judgement are important, heavy-duty subjects. But self-control? Is it that important? Paul apparently thought so. And most of us know that in Galatians 5 self-control is listed as a fruit of the Spirit. I have the Spirit in me so logically, self-control should be within my reach. We do have help. 2 Corinthians tells us that "the love of Christ controls us." It stands to reason that the more we are conformed to the image of Christ, the more self-control we will exhibit. And what an example Christ was for us. When He was accused, He kept silent; when tortured He didn't fight back; when humiliated He didn't get angry.

A synonym for control is discipline. Here is part of the definition of discipline:

"training, especially of the mind or character; the training effect of experience or misfortune; the trained condition of order and obedience."

OBEDIENCE. I noticed that word immediately. I can develop self-control by simply being obedient to God. The word training indicates that this is a process. It takes practice. That means I won't be able to master it today but I will improve over time.

Another synonym for control is regulate. The definition of regulate is:

"to put in condition to work properly."

That's what I want! I want to "work properly." Is it possible that by submitting to God's training, practicing self-control, and learning from my experiences and misfortunes, all that I am will work
better? I'm sure that's what it means and that is an encouraging concept to me.

Then I stumbled upon these verses:

1 Timothy 4:7-8

⁷ But have nothing to do with worldly fables fit only for old women. On the other hand, discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness; ⁸ for bodily discipline is only of little profit, but godliness is profitable for all things, since it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.

Godliness is the thing to strive for because it is profitable "for all things." I'd like to think that this means that I don't need to worry about "bodily discipline" but that isn't the case. Eating half of an Ultimate Berry Pie from Trader Joe's at 11:00 p.m. is probably not my best idea. But I tend to focus on these less important things - my weight, my eating, my inactivity, etc. I need to set my sights higher. I need to discipline myself for the "purpose of godliness." Everything I do should be measured against God's standards. It's a question of priorities and if I am spending more time concentrating on "bodily disciplines" like what I eat rather than more important disciplines like prayer or Bible study, I will miss God's greater purpose for my life - godliness. And that godliness will trickle down to every arena of my life and I will be saturated with it. Marinated in the things of the Lord, my life might one day be sort of like that Ultimate Berry Pie - memorable, filling, satisfying, and a credit to its Maker!