Up until recently, I believed I lacked self-control. For some reason, my mind had come to the conclusion that everything but self-control was attainable. What led me here? Was it fear or lack of the right information on self-control?
In the last few months, I’ve come across scriptures that show that I have self-control. My favourite being 2 Peter 1:5-8:
So devote yourselves to lavishly supplementing your faith with goodness, and to goodness add understanding, and to understanding add the strength of self-control, and to self-control add patient endurance, and to patient endurance add godliness, and to godliness add mercy toward your brothers and sisters, and to mercy toward others add unending love.
Since these virtues are already planted deep within, and you possess them in abundant supply, they will keep you from being inactive or fruitless in your pursuit of knowing Jesus Christ more intimately.
2 Peter 1:5-8 TPT
How come I didn’t know this?
Self-control: restraint exercised over one’s own impulses, emotions, or desires (Merriam-Webster Dictionary)
As a child, I liked climbing everything climbable. So, if the adults didn’t want me climbing, they’d say something like “There’s something scary up the top of that ladder”. Obviously, I won’t bother climbing because I was already scared.
Have you ever discovered you can do something without the said consequence? When you arrived at that realization, didn’t it defeat the purpose of the fear once instilled?
If the concept of self-control and consequences are explained & understood, then the use of fear would be unnecessary.
Endpoint
For God will never give you the spirit of fear, but the Holy Spirit who gives you mighty power, love, and self-control. 2 Timothy 1:7 TPT
Unintentionally, a lot of fear has been instilled in the hearts of believers. Sure, we don’t want them to make the wrong decisions. However, we’re also not providing the complete information to aid in decision making.
On reflection, I found a lot of fear – fear of said consequences – and very little information on self-control. Now, I’m learning about that, and it’s liberating.
Are you doing anything from the place of fear of consequences? This is your call to come to the place of self-control. How should you do that? Read God’s word to you, aka your Bible.
Thank you for reading – Funmi
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