Wednesday, October 2, 2013

Control…

We seek to control everything in our life.  Why do we crave it and work hard to make everything work according to our plan and then we crumble when it doesn’t work out.  Some have made a profession from “control”.  They are good managers according to their strengths and talents and can handle taking control well.  In our households, we control it all and make sure things get done around there.  We spend lots of time controlling our lives and our relationships.

There is a different kind of control in the Bible….”self-control”.  2 Peter 1:5-7 talks about supplementing our faith with self-control….it is listed as knowledge with self-control and self-control with steadfastness.  The key is found in verse 8:  this should increase for our effectiveness in our faith in the Lord.  What is this and how do I get it?

This self-control is a sober, temperate, calm, and dispassionate approach to life, having mastered personal desires and passions. – Holman Bible Dictionary.  It is simply having control in your life.

Did you know people who exercise self-control properly are happier?  The research, which was published in the Journal of Personality, showed that self-control isn’t just about deprivation, but more about managing conflicting goals. Since most people associate highly disciplined folks with being more task-oriented — they’re not likely to be the life of the party, for example, or eager to act on a whim — the scientists decided to correlate self-control with people’s happiness, to determine if being self-disciplined leaves people feeling less joyful.

The answer, it seems, lies in being a good manager. Self-control, for one, may not consist so much of being better at resisting temptation, but at finding better ways to avoid it. “High self-control does make you happy,” the authors conclude.  - Time Magazine (June 2013)

Now, apply this to your faith and controlling the desires of your flesh to be out of control.  In order for “faith, hope and love” to be abundant in your life, self-control would dictate that we remain calm to situations, we don’t lose our temper, and seek to serve God and others over ourselves.  To think about the kingdom of God perspective in all things instead of ourselves all the time.  Even when we don’t like it, but we know we need to do something that doesn’t serve ourselves.

Exercise Self-Control and Be Happy…Sleepy Disciple