Self Control – Galatians 5:22-23
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.
In a classic cartoon, Cathy, the perpetual dieter, starts out saying she will not go to the grocery store. Through a series of frames, Cathy decides to take a drive but not go by the store, to drive by, but not go in, and then to go in but not go down the goodies aisle. It ends with Cathy in a feeding frenzy at the checkout counter. Sound familiar? How often do we slide into self-indulgence, casting off our firm intentions to stick to our diet, to stay away from unwholesome materials, or to refrain from passing on a juicy bit of gossip? This cartoon perfectly depicts the slippery slope from resolve to failure. If only Cathy had resisted the temptation in the first frame, she might have succeeded.
The Lord taught me this principle as a young Christian when I was struggling to break my addiction to smoking. I had attempted to quit a hundred times but seemed incapable of making it through a single day without cigarettes. I was miserable and felt helpless to change. I begged the Lord to set me free from this consuming bondage, and He gave me a simple plan, i.e., stop the temptation in the first frame. First, I did as Daniel did regarding the rich foods from the king’s table in ancient Babylon;[1] I decided that I would no longer defile my body with cigarettes. This done, I put down my cigarettes and informed my tempters and myself that, by the grace of God through Jesus Christ, I no longer smoked. Whenever I was tempted to smoke, I dismissed the temptation, repeatedly stopping it in the first frame with statements such as, “In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, I do not smoke, and I will never smoke again. For it is written that the fruit of the Spirit is self-control.” Through God’s grace, He delivered me from this pernicious habit, and in the ensuing years, it never successfully enticed me again.
We need not be “like a city that is broken into and without walls,” for we can have control over our spirit.[2] Jesus has liberated us forever from the sin that formerly bound us,[3] making us servants of righteousness,[4] which results in sanctification. We need not let self-indulgence reign since it is no longer master over us.[5] Rather, we have the power through the indwelling Holy Spirit to exercise control over our behavior.
Exercise the self-control Christ has given you by the
Spirit. He has set you free; therefore,
you are free indeed.[6]
[1] Daniel 1:8
[2] Proverbs 25:28
[3] Romans 8:2
[4] Romans 6:18
[5] Romans 6:14
[6] John 8:36
