I just can’t stop looking at it. Really, you have no
self-control? Just one look won’t hurt,
will it? It means that you don’t care
with what the Lord of Hosts, the Holy Spirit of God gets drenched. It’s only Sports Illustrated swimsuit models.
You know healthy, very healthy girls. Just because they don’t have much on or
the suits are just painted on doesn’t mean I shouldn’t look at it. Of course
not Satan will say. It is good for you and your virility. Or is it downgrading
your self-control and discipline and downgrading the women in the photos along
with all women? The answer is yes it
does. Each time you fail to use your self-discipline you break down barriers to
sin. Sin becomes easier. Your heart slowly becomes more hardened to sin and
lust. This usually means that your shield comes down and space junk will crash
in. “Like
a city whose walls are broken down is a man who lacks self-discipline” (Proverbs
25:28).
So what do we do to build up self-control or discipline? Peter
tells us, “For this very reason (God’s precious promises) make
every effort to add to your faith goodness, knowledge, and to knowledge,
self-control, and to self-control perseverance; ad to perseverance godliness;
and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. For if
you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from
being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
For if anyone does not have them, he is blind” (2 Peter 1:5-8). This is part of God’s formula for success in
overcoming our weakness. How do we add these qualities? We must seek and
practice these characteristics through self-discipline. That’s right, we obtain
it through practicing it and proclaiming, “I have self-control.”
The fruit of the Spirit includes “self-control.” All of
fruit works together toward helping us in our self-control. “You are all sons of the light and sons of
the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness. Son then, let us not
be like others, who are asleep, but let us be alert and self-controlled…But
since we belong to the day, let us be self-controlled, putting on faith and
love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ”
(1 Thessalonians 5:5-8).
These are the traits God holds for the Elder and the Deacon.
In 1 Timothy 3 we find listed the characteristics of one who is above reproach,
the husband or wife of but one spouse, temperate, self-controlled, respectable,
hospitable, able to teach, not given to drunkenness, not violent but gentle,
not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. He must manage his own family well.
Notice that self-control is again in the middle of the pack.
So how are you doing on your self-control? The only road to
holiness and godliness is practicing the spiritual disciplines that lead us to
self-control. “Discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness” (1 Timothy
4:7 NASB). It is a channel to God’s
transforming grace. Notice that 2 Peter 1:6 says, “and to self-control, perseverance;
and to perseverance, godliness.” It
is the sequence of development of godliness in a lifelong pursuit.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Thanks for sharing your thoughts.