“Self-Control” —  A term that conjures up images of the use of sheer willpower to not eat that second (or third, or fourth, or…) piece of chocolate.

Or to not blurt out what’s on our minds.

Or to not hit “snooze” when the alarm goes off—once… again…

Or to not… [whatever is extremely difficult to restrain ourselves from doing].

Yes, self-control involves choices.

But thankfully we don’t have to JUST choose.  We have HELP choosing.

Take a look at this picture above:

This is a picture of self-control.  “What do you mean, ‘self-control’?!”, you may ask.  “This dog isn’t controlling himself!  He’s being held back by a leash!  And there’s a fence between him and that turkey he’d love to gobble!”

True—which is why it’s a fuller picture of self-control.

There’s a limit to our willpower.  So if we really want self-control, we need to plan ahead and arrange for assistance and call for reinforcement—by:

  • Connecting ourselves to the Lord—our all-powerful Master, Who has our best interests in mind—when He’s “holding the leash”, it’s to keep us from harming ourselves and others and/or doing something we’ll regret later. Like the master in this picture—that turkey may have looked good, but would have hurt the dog if the dog actually reached it! –Get a new leash on life! 🙂
  • Setting boundaries for ourselves and being thankful for the ones already set. That fence between the dog and the turkey was there for protection—not only for the animals inside, but for animals and kids outside that might wander in and get attacked.

Boundaries make us secure and put self-control at the front end of our lives—already there in place to PREVENT overwhelming temptation.  It’s been said that “If we fail to plan, we plan to fail.”  This applies to planning ahead on how to both avoid temptation and flee it when we can’t avoid it.

2 Tim. 2:22 tells us:

“Flee the evil desires of youth and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.” In other words—“RUN!” In the opposite direction—toward the Lord and His ways.

If we don’t flee those evil desires when we’re young, they’ll still be there, and even stronger, when we get older, because we’ve strengthened them by feeding them!

What are “evil desires”?   Anything that pulls us away from righteousness, faith, love and peace. Anything that comes from our own pride or selfishness—fame for fame’s sake; having stuff just to show off and keep it for ourselves; power so we can control others; etc.

This is why generals make battle plans and military personnel train— to minimize the casualties and win. Wars are won battle by battle.

What if we lose a battle with temptation? Don’t lay down and “die” in it! Acknowledge the loss for what it is, get up again, and plan and train for the next one.

“If we confess our sins, he [the Lord] is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9)

We do the acknowledging (confessing).  He cleans off of the mud we get into from falling, and empowers us to get back up again.

The more we intentionally become mastered by the Master, the less we’ll fall.

Where is self-control hardest for you?  What boundaries and leashes can you set for yourself to build it up?