Untold amounts of money and time are spent by researchers in the fields of psychology, sociology, biology, education, and sports, studying self-con¬trol. They examine various aspects of self-control, such as factors that affect self-control, benefits from exhibiting self-control, and best practices of self-control. In general, self-control is portrayed as a skill to be developed and the motivation to develop self-control is the desirable personal benefits and future rewards that can positively impact one’s quality of life.
If self-control is beneficial to one’s quality of life, and self-control can be developed – it’s achievable through consistent practice and recovery – why does it seem like self-control is lacking in our families, workplace, communities, churches, schools, businesses, government, and organizations?
Could it be that followers of God have misunderstood the purpose of self-control?
In the Bible, self-control is used to characterize someone who demonstrates self-restraint. Most often the context of the use of self-control is associated with restraining oneself from sinful desires in order to live the life God intended.
Living without restraints or lack of self-control is indicative of the human condition. When the apostle Paul writes to Timothy, Paul uses self-control as a description of the human condition. Paul reminds Timothy:
Run from anything that stimulates youthful lusts. Instead, pursue righteous living, faithfulness, love, and peace. Enjoy the companionship of those who call on the Lord with pure hearts. Again I say, don’t get involved in foolish, ignorant arguments that only start fights. A servant of the Lord must not quarrel but must be kind to everyone, be able to teach, and be patient with difficult people. Gently instruct those who oppose the truth. Perhaps God will change those people’s hearts, and they will learn the truth. Then they will come to their senses and escape from the devil’s trap. For they have been held captive by him to do whatever he wants. 2 Timothy 2:22-26
After two chapters of encouragement and instruction, Paul describes to Timothy what he should expect in the last days and the type of people Timothy should avoid.
You should know this, Timothy, that in the last days there will be very difficult times. For people will love only themselves and their money. They will be boastful and proud, scoffing at God, disobedient to their parents, and ungrateful. They will consider nothing sacred. They will be unloving and unforgiving; they will slander others and have no self-control. They will be cruel and hate what is good. They will betray their friends, be reckless, be puffed up with pride, and love pleasure rather than God. They will act religious, but they will reject the power that could make them godly. Stay away from people like that! 2 Timothy 3:1-5
These instructions and warnings are not lost on Timothy because they are relevant for today. The lack of self-control is not a new human condition, and followers of God continue to misunderstand the purpose of self-control.
Biblical self-control is associated with governance or authority, specifically to whom you submit control of your life. When you submit yourself to live “under God’s control” rather than your own “self” control, you are exhibiting the type of self-control described in the Bible.
A worldly view of self-control has “self” as the focus and “selfishness” as its motive, but a biblical or godly view of self-control has others (God/Jesus and others) as the focus and pleasing God and making Him known as the motivation.
The type of self-control that benefits only you and creates a heightened sense of self-confidence does not reflect the purpose of developing self-control portrayed in the Bible.
Biblical self-control is a way for God’s followers to obey and please God, display God’s image more accurately to others, and dispense God’s grace, which ultimately points to the truth about God and brings God glory (reference 2 Corinthians 4). Therefore, the motivation for developing self-control is a genuine desire to love God, love others, and demonstrate your life is surrendered to God and controlled by Him.
God’s followers don’t live “under their own control” or “under sin’s control” but rather live in the freedom of God’s grace, under God’s control.
We know that our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin. For when we died with Christ we were set free from the power of sin. And since we died with Christ, we know we will also live with him. We are sure of this because Christ was raised from the dead, and he will never die again. Death no longer has any power over him. When he died, he died once to break the power of sin. But now that he lives, he lives for the glory of God. So you also should consider yourselves to be dead to the power of sin and alive to God through Christ Jesus.
Do not let sin control the way you live; do not give in to sinful desires. Do not let any part of your body become an instrument of evil to serve sin. Instead, give yourselves completely to God, for you were dead, but now you have new life. So use your whole body as an instrument to do what is right for the glory of God. Sin is no longer your master, for you no longer live under the requirements of the law. Instead, you live under the freedom of God’s grace.
Well then, since God’s grace has set us free from the law, does that mean we can go on sinning? Of course not! Don’t you realize that you become the slave of whatever you choose to obey? You can be a slave to sin, which leads to death, or you can choose to obey God, which leads to righteous living. Thank God! Once you were slaves of sin, but now you wholeheartedly obey this teaching we have given you. Now you are free from your slavery to sin, and you have become slaves to righteous living.
Because of the weakness of your human nature, I am using the illustration of slavery to help you understand all this. Previously, you let yourselves be slaves to impurity and lawlessness, which led ever deeper into sin. Now you must give yourselves to be slaves to righteous living so that you will become holy.
When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the obligation to do right. And what was the result? You are now ashamed of the things you used to do, things that end in eternal doom. But now you are free from the power of sin and have become slaves of God. Now you do those things that lead to holiness and result in eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 6:6-23
Those who choose to exhibit biblical self-control allow God to empower them to live life the way God designed life with Him to be lived. Their lives display the truth about God and the reality of the human condition. When you live “under God’s control” you make the truth about God visible, and your life points others to God.
