“It is not good to eat much honey, nor is it glorious to seek one’s own glory. A man without self control is like a city broken into and left without walls.”
Father, I desire this wisdom to mark my life. Protect me through granting self-control! Teach me to relish it in the moment and to obediently practice it. Galatians 5 says that self-control is a fruit of the Spirit. That means I can’t just conjure it up or produce it from my own stubborn volition. It has to be a gift from you. Give me a soft heart that is quick to ask for more of your Spirit. Luke 11 says, “If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the Heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” Father, make me fertile ground for your Spirit to produce all of his lovely fruits!
Depending on the situation there are so many ways in which I can lack self control. I can “eat too much honey”…enjoying your good creation to the excess, and thus turning a gift into a vice. Maybe it’s food, or drink, or rest, or any sort of pleasure. Teach me to worship you through enjoying the good things without letting that enjoyment become worship of the thing itself!
Not all in this world, however, even has a good purpose. Some of it is the product of the enemy’s twisting of your creation. These elements, such as drugs, pornography, practices of self-harm, components of false religion, are to be avoided altogether. They are akin to the illicit fruit of the knowledge of good and evil that our first parents partook of because they wanted to feel like gods. Father, give us grace to avoid these treacheries! Cause all of us to respect the kind limits you have placed on humanity and to worship you alone as God!
At times I lack self-control because I don’t want to do the hard thing I know you ask of me. It’s easier to go about my normal routine leaving my self-preferred habits unchallenged. It’s hard to take time for people who aren’t like me in certain ways. It’s scary to have conversations or follow through on actions that feel risky, even if I do it in your name. Grant me the courage and self-control enough to be complete the role you have for me among the people and situations you’ve placed me in accord with your sovereign wisdom.
Sometimes I lack self-control because I think I’m entitled to vent my feelings. We live in an age where self-expression is highly prized, and so even we as your people can drift into thinking that emotional volatility is acceptable because of its authenticity. Convict me of sin when I err in that way. Teach me to be a genuine communicator without letting my emotions control and manipulate the way I live. I think of Cain, who was so angry. You told him, “Why are you angry, and why has your face fallen…sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is contrary to you, but you must rule over it.” Whether it’s anger or sadness or fear or even delight, teach me to experience and process my feelings in healthy ways that always honor you and honor others.
The worst lack of self-control is when I’m actually excelling at meeting the benchmarks I’ve set for myself, and therefore feel superior to others. Lord, I repent of feeling smug or playing the expert. Teach me that “it is not glorious to seek one’s own glory”! Holy Spirit, instill in me a self-control over ego. And in this way, let your fruit of self-control in me become a fountain of blessing for the others in my life and a signpost toward your goodness and mercy. Amen!