The Children Of God should be sober-minded and self-controlled. They are not to be easily excited or impulsive. They are to cultivate a sound mind, nourished and built up in the truth, directed and motivated by clear, well thought out decisions upon the basis of God’s Word.
Its origin
Self-control originates in the mind. This inward or internal feeling of goodness is then reflected in outward or external behaviour. The end product is a completely balanced display. There is no place or space for disorderliness or flamboyance. Instead the self-controlled brother or sister is orderly, decent, well-mannered, and uses acceptable means of communication especially in public. Not only is the sober person open, but he is also courteous and considerate toward others. Even in small affairs, the sober-minded brother or sister can actively and publicly reflect the example of Christ.
Action and speech
Our actions and our speech must be controlled by the desire to do right in the sight of God. Therefore we do not try to hurt or wound one another, nor disgrace our brethren and sisters. With the mind of Christ in us, we do not gossip or slander any one. Many of our brethren and sisters seem very quarrelsome and argumentative. If you don’t agree with them you are in for a rough ride! Sometimes there is no obvious reason for this other than self exaltation. This should not be so. It is a deviation from the teaching of holy Scripture. Let everything we say and do be done in a controlled manner.
The Christian journey requires a great deal of self-control. The child of God orders his life on moderation, love and peace. Judging by their writings, there are brethren who actually glorify contention, and urge us to be aggressive in our attitudes to others. Ignoring Jesus’ warnings, they find what they think are justifiable occasions to judge and condemn. This is not the mark of a true believer or a godly person. It is actually a sign of spiritual immaturity and psychological insecurity.
“Slackness”
There is a rising culture in the Caribbean that is disgusting. It is popularly known as “slackness.” We all know that it glorifies and takes pride in sneering at everything that is decent, upright and moral, boasting of casual, sloppy, untidy minds and bodies, clothing, behaviour, appearance — everything. It is increasingly the “life-style” of our age. But it should have no place amongst Slackness is spoken of as a sign, even a typical characteristic of the “last days” (II Tim. 3:3; Rom. 1:30; II Pet. 2:12).
Patience
Self-control requires patient waiting in meekness for the salvation of God (Lam. 3:26). There is no room for being over anxious over things of this life, for the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil, and they that desire to be rich fall into temptation (I Tim. 6:9). Real patience is faith in God’s ability and willingness to perform that which He has promised, believing that there is nothing too hard for God to do. The believer is self-controlled and calm even in the midst of a raging storm. His heart is “fixed” as the psalmist put it, full of true inner peace, knowing that ultimate deliverance will come from God. A real antidote to feelings of impatience and frustration is to read Acts 27, the story of Paul’s journey to Rome. Paul’s behaviour on that voyage was a marvelous blend of all those qualities: inner peace, quiet confidence, patient assurance, and self-control. He was the master of the situation in the midst of more than 200 distraught people.
Manner of life
Our manner of life should reflect spiritual development (I Pet. 2:12). We are to shun every appearance of evil. Don’t give either believer or unbeliever any reason to doubt our profession of loyalty to the Lord and our high calling in Christ Jesus. Some of us send bad signals in the brotherhood and in the world. The true believer lives a clean, clear, self-controlled life so that at no time is there any reason to doubt his or her behaviour. Through self-control we refrain ourselves from giving the adversary any occasion to “blaspheme” the holy Name or to speak against us (I Pet. 4:12-16). By practicing self-control, we also keep or raise our self-esteem, and can take a proper godly pride in ourselves. Not arrogantly, but with a sense of worth and integrity.
Body language
Don’t forget that self-control guides our body language. If we become thoughtless and careless, we will soon find that our behaviour is sending the wrong message. It has long been accepted that actions speak louder than words. In Proverbs 16:32 we are told, “He that ruleth his spirit is better than he that taketh a city.” Therefore, whatever we say and do, thoughts that we encourage in our hearts, wherever we go, the things that we enjoy or find pleasure in are all to be subject to godly self-control.
In other words, our life style must be a reflection of a self-controlled mind. How is this possible? Paul gives us the answer in I Thessalonians 5:58: “We do not belong to the night, or to the darkness. So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be alert and self-controlled. For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, get drunk at night. But since we belong to the day, let us be self-controlled, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet.”
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One