“A person without self-control is like a city
with broken-down walls.”
Proverbs 25:28
(NLT)
When this
particular scripture was written the walls of a city were the primary line of
defense.
I suppose in
today’s vernacular one could paraphrase the scripture above this way:
“A person
without self-control is like a nation with unprotected borders.”
If any nation
fails to protect its’ borders – it invites in all kinds of problems.
Likewise, when
you fail to develop and grow in self-control and instead your life is ruled by
your emotions you too invite in all kinds of problems.
The word “self”
is a four letter word that believers are often taught to avoid but hitch up the
word “self” with the word “control” and you have an admirable trait.
Consider the following
scenario:
A man notices a
skin blemish on his arm and shows it to a friend.
The friend in
panicked tones expresses grave concern and says:
“My third cousins’ best friends’ mother-in-law
had something ‘kinda-sorta’ like that and died just weeks later from skin
cancer.”
You allow your
fear to take hold and before you know it, instead of the proverbial “mountain
out of a molehill”; you imagine a “cancer out of a blemish”!
I know it sounds
silly but we all have done it.
We let our
emotions get the best of us and are driven wherever fear, worry or anger wants
to take us (and it’s never a beneficial destination!)
In the scenario
above self-control doesn’t mean we ignore whatever we might be facing.
It does mean we
don’t react with panic and fear.
This week,
remind yourself of what we were taught on Sunday –
Emotions are
given by God to enhance our lives but not to empower our lives!
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