In Control?

"Add to your knowledge self control" (2 Peter 1:6).

We all know that knowledge is not enough. Without putting our knowledge to noble use, it leads only to (self-) destruction.

Yet sometimes our knowledge is hard to put into practice. Especially when it concerns the eternal truths of God's word, with the example of Jesus Christ before us, the gulf between knowledge and practice can seem daunting.

I think that we can view self-control, a virtue commanded throughout the New Testament, as the first important step in practicing what we believe. Self-control includes mastery of our bodies, minds, emotions, and ultimately our choices. It is basically knowing when to say "yes" and especially "no" - and especially to ourselves.

In his helpful book Respectable Sins, Jerry Bridges lists the lack of self-control as one of those faults we live with all to easily. Yet its affects can be devastating. It takes self-control to practice God's word, and if we are controlled by our appetites or emotions (whether sinful ones or not) we will lose the edge we need to obey, to endure. Paul said that he disciplined his body to avoid being spiritually "disqualified" (2 Corinthians 9:27); Jesus said, "By your endurance you will gain your lives" (Luke 21:19).

"Being in control" is a universal desire. We want to control our circumstances, control others, and control ourselves. Two of these desires are misguided, but the third - self-control - is thoroughly biblical.

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If you wish to look up further passages on this topic, Bridges recommends Proverbs 25:28, Galatians 5:22-23, and 2 Timothy 3:3. Titus 2 has much to say on this subject, as do the two epistles of Peter.