 |
Photo Credit: Unsplash
|
Anchor Scriptures: 2 Peter 1:5-7, Proverbs 16:32
Self-Control is an inner strength that resists one from indulging or acting on impulse. It is by resisting the habits and desires of the flesh that we become like Christ. A man who cannot control himself will be controlled by so many things. It is dangerous to live a life without self-control. Knowledge is not enough, we need to add temperance to our knowledge. Because knowledge without self-control puffs up and it becomes pride. In this post, we shall discuss How to develop Self Control in three factors.
RELATING TO THE TONGUE
The use of the tongue is a primary way of showing the true character of one’s religion. The bible says to the religious man whose tongue is unbridled, that his religion is worthless and that he deceives himself (James 1:26). So the tongue marks out the Christian. Whereas the lying tongue is the prevalent sin in the world today, God places much premium on the good use of the tongue. See Prov 18:21
The lying tongue soon degenerates into vices like gossips, tale bearing and slanders, whispering, backbiting, false witness, etc. The fate of all liars is recorded in Revelation 21:8. The scripture describes the tongue in a frightful way in James 3:6-8 as fire and a world of iniquity; unruly evil, full of poisons. See Prov 13:3. The bible warns that a careless talker will have destructions in life.
RELATING TO TEMPER
Sometimes one of the greatest afflictions of many Christians today is quick, hot and violent display of anger and irritation, afterwards they begin to show remorse and regret. I want you to understand in this lesson that everyone born of a woman has a natural tendency to be angry. That is because the adrenalin gland is present in every human being. So if you don’t ever get angry at all, something is wrong with your body system. However, there is a Holy anger and there is a satanic anger. Every child of God is expected to express a holy anger against sin, Satan, sickness, disease, demons and every kind of evil around us. When you see evil around you and remain quiet, it shows that you are not a true lover of God and righteousness. Jesus Christ expressed this kind of anger when He saw the Jews turning the temple of God which is supposed to be a house of prayer into a common market. Did Jesus take it lightly with the offenders? No, He flogged them mercilessly, threw them out of the temple and turned their tables upside down single handedly. See Matt 21:12-14, Luke 19:45-46. In the other hand, evil or satanic anger is known as hot temper. It means you have no control over your temper and can do just anything once you are provoked. This kind of anger may result to fighting, nagging, oppression, depression and destruction of lives and properties. This must not be in the life of a true child of God. Are you a victim of hot-temper? How do you react when you are provoked? See what the bible says about hot-temper (Eccl 7:9). An angry man is a foolish man and a foolish man will die before his time. People with violent temper are open to attack from the devil (Prov 25:28). The scripture warns that we should not make friends with anyone who has hot-temper (Prov 22:24). To have control over our spirit, we must surrender our lives totally to the Holy Spirit and clothe ourselves with the Beauty of a gentle and quite spirit (1 Peter 3:4).
RELATING TO LUST
Lust is a sinful desire to have what you are not supposed to have or do what is not right for you to do. There are three kinds of lust. They are, Lust of the flesh (desires of the sinful nature), lust of the eyes (what people see and want) and the pride of life (everything that people desire for self-glory and gratification such as money, power, titles etc and not for the glory of God). The man without the Holy Spirit is controlled by LUST. Naturally, he doesn’t have self-control in him. But when a man or woman is born again and filled with the Holy Spirit, self-control is present in his spirit and it is his responsibility to develop and practice self-control and walk in righteousness and holiness.
CONCLUSION
Having discussed how to develop Self Control in this post, you just need to take promt action to begin to see result. You may not see 100% result in one day, but gradually, one step at a time, you will see significant transformation as you take responsibility to control your actions and decisions. God cannot ask you to add temperance to knowledge if He has not already given you the ability to practice self-control. If you are a child of God, the virtue called self-control is in you. All you need to do is to be deliberate and intentional about it. Make up your mind to express it when ever the need arises. God bless you.
Was this post helpful?
If you like my work, Please Send Your Gift Here:
0 Comments