The Virtue of Self-Control

Our modern society talks little of the value of self-control. Instead it’s the attitude of do what you want, when you want, for however long you want, with no thought of the consequences. However, we find in Titus 2:5 that the young women are exhorted to exhibit self-control. What is self-control? It’s living a life of moderation, free of any excesses and addictions, not being enslaved to anything. It’s being sober-minded, temperate, discreet, of a sound mind. Let’s look at some areas where we might as women be a bit more prone to a lack of self-control.

Food

Consuming too much, too little or the wrong kinds of food shows a lack of self-control. We need to eat to the glory of God. Yes, food is a gift from God to be enjoyed, but it is important to recognize that overeating is sin. Eating to allay our fears, disappointments and depression is also a sin. We should find our comfort in Christ and not in food. It’s important to note that it is possible to be disciplined in this area but with wrong motives. If we are looking for attention from others or trying to meet the physical values of our society, our discipline is not glorifying to God. The question we need to ask is whether we are eating to gratify our own sinful desires or to please God.

Sleep

God created rest, and we need to make sure we are getting the proper rest that we need. But if you’re like me, you might find that your temptation is not to get too little sleep but to get too much. How do we know what is the right amount of sleep? We need to look at our priorities and make sure that we have allowed ourselves the time necessary to commune with God, to meet the needs of our families and to take care of our home duties.

Time

Self-control not only gives the ability to say no to sinful desires but also to follow through with godly desires. Nothing is more important than our daily communion with God. Do we find ourselves giving the excuse that we don’t have time to read God’s Word? If so, we are showing that we have a problem being disciplined with our time. We’ll find time for the things that we want to do. We live in an age that is full of distractions – television, movies, facebook, hobbies, sports, pleasure. We need to be vigilant to use our time wisely.

Speech

Are we disciplined with our tongue? Are we characterized by someone who talks too much? Are we given to gossip? Our words have great power to destroy or to encourage. Let’s make sure we’re showing discipline by thinking before we speak.

Thoughts

It’s estimated that we think over 10,000 thoughts per day. Sinful thoughts will result in sinful behaviors. We need to guard our hearts and minds. Are our thoughts consumed by fear, worry, and anxiety? Someone has once said that we need to stop listening to ourselves and start talking to ourselves. We need to discipline our minds to think on God and things that are true.

It’s important to remember that when God commands us to do something, He gives the ability to obey. We’re halfway through the year and probably have found that all those great ambitions and desires we had at the beginning of the year to be disciplined have dwindled. The temptation we may find though is to get up tomorrow and gather up all our energy to be more disciplined only to fall right back down. We cannot go in our own strength. We need to draw on God’s sustaining grace each day for the strength to lead a disciplined life.

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