Does anyone have any self-control any more?  In times past, self-control was regulated by a society that looked down, frowned upon, ridiculed, chastised unorthodox behavior.  But if you haven’t noticed, times have changed.  It’s now an everything goes society.  From food to sex to drugs to relationships, indulgence is everything.  Indulgence has no discipline.  Indulgence is addiction.  We will run after that thing that makes us feel better or feel better about ourselves to the point of turning a blind eye to the needs of others.  And if we do something to meet the needs of others, rarely is it without some selfish motive or gain.  We do the right things for the wrong reasons while indulging every craving.  Seekers of pleasure find no success.

Proverbs 21:17

17 Whoever loves pleasure will be a poor man;

he who loves wine and oil will not be rich. (ESV)

God wants us to enjoy life.  He also wants us to enjoy sugar.  It is a plant.  He gave it.  But I am pretty sure He never intended for us to sit down and eat a dozen Krispy Kremes at one time.  He wants us to enjoy food, but gluttony is ungodly.  He wants us to enjoy sex, but within the limits of marriage.  The pleasures of this life should be a bonus, not the goal.  

The enemy has perverted everything God intended for us to enjoy.  He tempts us with pleasure of the flesh which temporarily satiates us and we sit happy in our most recent high.  The greatest things in life are spiritually and relationally pleasurable.  Pleasures of the flesh keep us from doing the work necessary to produce those things that really make life wonderful.  

Pleasure overwhelms us with a temporary euphoria that feels good enough for now.  And pleasures of the flesh are so easily had without much work.  Because pleasures of the flesh are easier and more readily available, we are tempted to opt for these than doing the work necessary for success.

We go after sex instead of good relationships.  We get buzzed instead of seeking peace by addressing the issue.  We get high and fall over instead of running the race to build a successful life.  And this is our natural state.  But there is hope.

2 Timothy 1:6-7

For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands, 7 for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control. (ESV)

The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of self-control.  The more engaged I am with the Holy Spirit, He helps me with wisdom and truth to resist the temporary temptations to treat our flesh to a flash of euphoria and bridle our sinful passions.  We don’t get lazy.  We work hard at work, at home, at church.  We build on the principles of Christ to forge a new way welcoming all-encompassing shalom.

At the end of our days, we will look back and see a life well-wasted or a life well-lived.  Help us Holy Spirit!

Leave me a comment.  How do you receive help from the Lord to have self-control?  Where do you need more self-control

Live Blessed and Be a Blessing!

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