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Self-Control

             Like a city whose walls are broken through is a person who lacks self-control. (Proverbs 25:28)

Today’s thoughts follow along with those of July 21. When I consider the role of self-control in my life, I tend to see two possibilities. Either I am in absolute control over the every detail of everything I do or I am completely out of control. It’s a false dichotomy. And, of course, the reality is that, generally, no one else makes me do the things I do. I eat things I don’t need to eat and shouldn’t. I spend money on things I don’t need and shouldn’t get. I fail to pick up and put away all the stuff that clutters my house. The choices are mine. They might not be entirely conscious and volitional, but they’re mine.

But when we talk about self-control, we are discussing the effective choices we consciously make. Self-control means not doing things we decide not to do, and doing things we decide to. But it really means more than that. It means being the kind of person who does the things he/she decides and does not do the things he/she decides not to do. Consistently. There may be some instances of Herculean feats, but more often, he/she just does it.

It is the self-control that we develop in daily life that makes the big challenges possible. If we lack it, we have no defenses against being marauded by everyone and everything in life, because our boundaries/walls are broken.


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