By David Faust
“He can manage everyone but himself.”
That’s how baseball legend Casey Stengel once described Billy Martin, the fiery, flamboyant late manager of the New York Yankees.
Is some area of your life hard to manage? Are you quick to anger? Do you say things you later regret? Do you look at others with lust, hatred, or envy?
You can flip through TV channels with remote control, drive your car with cruise control, and cook your food with automatic temperature controls. But it takes self-control to decide what you will watch on TV, whether you will obey the speed limit, and what you will eat and drink.
Broken-Down Walls
A person without self-control is like a ship without a rudder or a car without brakes. “Like a city whose walls are broken through is a person who lacks self-control” (Proverbs 25:28, New International Version), for self-control provides protective boundaries and moral defenses. Cain’s lack of self-control resulted in Abel’s murder. Esau’s impatient demand for immediate gratification cost him his birthright. When David yielded to his lust for Bathsheba, his actions displeased the Lord, disrupted his family, and damaged his nation.
We all can relate to the apostle Paul, who was tempted to do what he shouldn’t do and neglect what he should do (Romans 7:14-25). That’s why it’s encouraging to know “the fruit of the Spirit is . . . self-control” (Galatians 5:22-23).
At first glance, it seems the burden for exercising self-control is entirely on us. It’s called self-control, after all. But we aren’t in this battle alone. The Spirit of God can help us.
Honoring God and Others
Biblical counselor Dr. Larry Crabb wrote that we shouldn’t confuse self-control with self-discipline or “stiff regularity,” which is simply a sinful person’s “way of organizing his life according to his own strength.” Being organized isn’t the same as being Spirit-filled.
Author Stephen Covey said proactive people have “the ability to subordinate an impulse to a value.” Elisabeth Elliot wrote that godly self-control is “fidelity to a system of fixed values and relations,” which arises from a profound sense of honor.
Christians recognized that self-control is rooted in love. The deeper our love for God—the more we honor the Lord and others—the stronger will be our self-control. Instead of a rigid system of do’s and don’ts, self-control is a positive response to God’s grace, which “teaches us to say ‘No’ to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age” (Titus 2:11-12).
When Joseph said “No” to the sexual advances of Potiphar’s wife, he said “Yes” to God’s plan for his life. When Daniel said “No” to the king’s soft lifestyle and rich food, God blessed him with a healthy body and a clear mind. Why did Jesus resist the devil’s temptations in the wilderness and refuse to call down legions of angels to rescue him from the cross? Because he was committed to a purpose higher than his own temporary safety and comfort.
A Reminder About Freedom
Self-control is the flipside of liberty. The Bible says, “Live as free people, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil” (1 Peter 2:16).
Fulton J. Sheen said the Statue of Liberty on our nation’s east coast should be matched by a Statue of Responsibility on the west. The brave Americans who signed the Declaration of Independence understood liberty’s flipside, and they pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor to further this noble cause.
The song “America the Beautiful” reminds us to pray for God to shed his grace on us, but it also includes another important request. May God “confirm thy soul in self-control, thy liberty in law.”
David Faust serves as contributing editor of Christian Standard and senior associate minister with East 91st Street Christian Church in Indianapolis, Indiana. He is the author of Not Too Old: Turning Your Later Years into Greater Years.
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