Live a life of self-control

Self-control is the ninth and final quality Paul includes in his list of the Fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23). The reason self-control is so difficult is because we are at war. Paul speaks of our dilemma in Romans 7:18, where he says, “I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out.”

Are you struggling with self-control in any area of your life? It could be in the area of lust, food, spending, ambition, anger — you name it. The list is endless.

Most of us need and want to be more self-controlled, but so many feel like there’s no hope. Perhaps you’ve tried to get control in certain areas of your life in the past, but have struck out so many times that you just feel like giving up. Before you throw in the towel, take time to read one of the premiere passages on self-control in the New Testament in the second chapter of Titus. The young pastor, Titus, did not have an easy assignment on the island of Crete. Crete was a party place populated by people whom Paul describes in Titus 1 as liars, evil brutes and lazy gluttons. Temptations abounded and tripped up some of the new Christians with whom Titus had been working in the Cretan congregation. These new Christians had come out of the wicked, raucous world that surrounded them. Each of these new believers still had friends who were participating in the drunken love fests for which Crete was famous.

Crete was not an easy place to win converts to Christ nor was it an easy place for believers to maintain their purity and live self-controlled lives. With all that in mind, it’s no surprise to find that in Paul’s brief letter to Titus there are numerous admonitions to seize self-control. Instead of acting crazy with no restraint, Paul challenges them instead to be controlled by the Spirit of God. Take time to read Titus 2 to find the solution for out-of-control lives. We desperately need God’s power and his grace to live the life God is calling us to live. This is not something you can pull off on your own. We all need God’s helps. And the good news is, he is ready to help us.
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You can e-mail Pastor Steve Greene at sgreene @seymournaz.org.