Who is in control?
Proverbs 25:28; “A person without self-control
is like a city with broken-down walls.”
is like a city with broken-down walls.”
In our everyday
lives we like to have some semblance of order. We all like to be in control of
our own lives. After all it is our one and only life. Contrary to what people
say about re-incarnation you only get one chance at this life. There are second chances in life, but there
are no second chances at this life. So here we stand guided by our dreams and
hopes, clawing and scratching and trying our best to be the best we can be. We are
controlled by many things, in part by our ability to have self-control. The
questions we ask ourselves are; Do we use our self-control the way it was meant
to be used? Do we pick and choose when to show self-control? Do circumstances
choose our ability to use self-control for us?
We all have parts
of our lives that we find difficult to control. From food to anger from
relationships to habits, you name it something is really in control and it is
not you. If we take inventory of the things we did this past week, how did you
use your self-control in those seven days? Who or What got to you were you
either showed self-control or lost it altogether? Here is the truth about
self-control; to have it you must surrender control to God. It is only through
surrendering to God’s grace and Holy Spirit and clothing ourselves with Jesus
that we can have the strength to practice self-control in every situation in
our lives.
Here is what it
looks like for some of us. You know you should come go to church yet you choose
not to. Then you get this feeling of something missing in the pit of your
stomach. You hear of an activity that is design for you to have fun and grow
spiritually but constantly choose to go do something else. At the time it
seemed like the thing to do, but down deep inside it left you empty. You decide
that keeping your faith a secret will help you gain popularity and once you are
popular you will tell people about it. You choose to pray when you need help
yet you completely ignore God when everything is great in your life. You hear
your parents, but you don’t listen. You talk harshly to them even though they
are right and trying to look after you.
Do you make your choice of what to watch on TV and the internet or is
someone else guiding you? Do you fall for the fancy ads that make everything
look good when they are really just drawing you away from what God has for you?
Self-control or selfish-control, you be the judge.
RH
