Tending the Garden for a Good Harvest: Self-Control

Galatians 5:22-23

A few years ago I was visiting my parents for Thanksgiving.  Their church was going through a sermon series on the seven deadly sins, and one of the associate pastors was given the task of preaching, on Thanksgiving weekend, on the topic of gluttony.  That was no easy task, talking to a crowd, many of whom were still wearing elastic waistbands three days after their gluttonous meal on Thanksgiving. 

That was a really awkward 45 minutes.  Why?  Because most of the crowd was guilty of the infraction.  Most of us had overeaten on Thanksgiving.  As well as other days.  Think about it: can you imagine someone in Darfur saying, “I ate way too much today” or “I’d better just sit here for a while; I am too stuffed to move”?  

One of the issues is that we as a culture have no self-control.  Today we are on the final aspect of the Fruit of the Spirit: Self-control.  This is a concept absolutely foreign to most of our culture.  I have generally begun by defining the aspect of the Fruit, but today let’s look quickly at what self-control is not.  The opposite of self-control is self-indulgence, a sin which Jesus accused the Pharisee leaders of in Matthew 23:25, calling them hypocrites.  He said, “You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence.” Though they looked good on the outside, inside, they were completely living for themselves.

The opposite of this attitude is so important that Matthew, Mark, and Luke all reported it verbatim.  “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” (Matt 16:24; Mark 8:34; Luke 9:23)

Self-control, defined, is: the mastery of the self and the fashioning of one’s life in the way which God desires.  Not like each of us desires, but what God desires.  In everything.  Here’s an irony: we spend often wonder what God’s will is for us, and we question that and pray over it, especially when it comes to uncomfortable areas like sharing our faith or praying for someone, but when it comes to our own personal items, like what to eat or watch on TV, we don’t spend much time in prayer.  Who prayed yesterday, “Lord, please tell me, give me a sign: should I watch the Buckeye game?” There are plenty of times when God’s Word is flat out obvious in what God’s will is, so don’t sit around praying about it: just do it!

For many of us, self-control only comes when things are out of control.  Maybe your finances are a train wreck, so you’ve been listening to Dave Ramsey, who has helped you start getting out of a financial mess, and you’ve created a budget and are sticking with it, so you aren’t making “impulse buys” on your credit card anymore – if you don’t have the cash to buy something or if it isn’t in your budget, you just don’t buy it.  

Or you’ve been drinking for years – no problem, but you just realized that you need that drink to get you started, or you got that DUI, or whatever the case, and now you’re trying to stop drinking. 

Or the doctor told you that your diet has to change today.

And it’s incredibly hard.  You’ve habituated yourself to a certain set of standards, good or bad.  And changing habits is hard.  It’s even hard for professional athletes.  In an Associated Press article from this week sportswriter Joseph White blames poor tackling in the NFL on a lack of practice.  Tackling is an essential element to football, but it’s also painful, and if defenders tackle all-out in practice, they risk hurting their offensive players.  So instead of tackling the guy with the ball, they “thud him up.”  Then on Sunday, they’re expected to really tackle; this is why we see so many missed tackles.

The point is this: whatever you want to do, you’ll have to practice doing it.  Not doing something else.  The Apostle Paul also uses athletic imagery to get his point across.  In 1 Corinthians 9:24-27 he poses the scenario: Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.   Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. [Otherwise said: Athletes exercise self-control in all things] They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.

I beat my body and make it my slave.  This is what self-control looks like.  I love the running metaphor Paul uses – it just goes to prove that running is God’s sport. ;-)  When I ran a marathon, I didn’t just get up one day and say, “I don’t run, but think I’ll run 26.2 miles today.” No, I trained!  I ran 5 days a week (and played soccer on the 6^th). I was averaging around 40 miles per week.  That took a lot of discipline. It took a lot of time every day.  I didn’t always feel like running, but I did it anyway. Why?  Because I wanted to succeed on race day.  I followed Hal Higdon’s training plan pretty religiously. Can you imagine me, a novice marathon runner reading the training plan and saying, “I know the training plan says that I’m supposed to run 8 miles today, but I’d rather eat 8 donuts instead.”? 

Most of us should know what we’re supposed to do.  Most of us should know what self-control looks like.  But we’ve not practiced it for so long because we’ve felt we haven’t needed to. Finances were good, so you spent freely.  Your drinking wasn’t a problem, so you had one more.  Your diet hadn’t killed you yet, so you continued to eat and drink whatever you wanted to.  Maybe you were even like a college roommate of mine, who, after a doctor diagnosed him with bronchitis, angrily snapped, “That quack told me to quit smoking.”

Jesus’ brother James has this to say about that situation:  (James 1:22-25) Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it—he will be blessed in what he does.

Paul says that an athlete exercises self-control in all things. All things.  Not just on competition day. This is true for us as well.  This is not limited to outward activity: no, instead we’re challenged to take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. 2 Corinthians 10:5.

Is this what our culture looks like?  I think it looks a lot more like the culture of 2 Timothy 3.  Paul describes this scene to Timothy: People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God—having a form of godliness but denying its power. 

Or, as the Proverb puts it: (Proverbs 25:28) Like a city whose walls are broken down is a man who lacks self-control.  Who wants to be like a broken down wall?

How do we get self-control?  We’re not good at self-control, and if you’ve ever just set out to have self-control, you know that it’s insanely difficult.  In fact, most of us have had those times when we’ve really been motivated, but then comes that one day… maybe you’ve been exercising regularly, but then you got the flu, and that was two months ago, and you haven’t exercised since (or maybe you fell off a treadmill and won’t get back on).   You quit smoking, this time for the last time, but life has been so stressful and you thought, “one cigarette won’t hurt anything.” Or you just needed that one drink. Or you set out to read your Bible every day, and you did so well, but the time change wrecked your schedule and it’s been a week…

In Paul’s letter to Titus, he says this: For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say "No" to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope—the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good. (Titus 2:11-14 ) God’s grace teaches us to live self-controlled lives, reminding us that we will be rewarded.  You see, we’re set aside for God – by the act of Jesus Christ, who gave himself to save us – we were actually slaves to our sinful selves, but Jesus set us free.  Because of this freedom, we don’t have to sin anymore!  We can say “No” to sin, ungodliness, and worldly passions.

We’re often challenged to just work harder and dig in deeper, and that sometimes works.  For a while, anyway.  But godly self-control doesn’t just come as an act of self-will or determination, but from the Holy Spirit.  When writing to Timothy, Paul tells him that God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline. (2 Timothy 1:7) God is the one who gave us this spirit: His powerful spirit, full of love, full of self-discipline. 

We are born selfish.  When a baby cries, it’s not because someone else is hungry.  We’re not born self-controlled.  But this is the nature of the Holy Spirit.  Here is the thing: we often decide we’re going to accept Jesus accept the gift of the Holy Spirit, but then we decide we’ll set the terms.  We ask him to bless us as we’ve made up our minds to do what we want. We have no self-control because we decide that we want to be in control.  There ‘s nothing about unconditional obedience in our DNA. 

Here’s what Peter wrote about this:  Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed. As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: "Be holy, because I am holy.” 1 Peter 1:13-16 

Prepare your mind for action.  Listen to the Word of God and recognize the difference between your own selfish desires and God’s will.  Put it into practice.

How do we put self-control into practice?  We practice the spiritual disciplines.  Much like if you want to be a good football player, you need to practice tackling, and if you want to be a good runner, you practice running, if you want to live a self-controlled life, you make the spiritual disciplines part of your routine.  I’ve found Richard Foster’s book Celebration of Discipline extremely helpful in helping me understand the spiritual disciplines.  He organizes the disciplines in three areas: Inward Disciplines, Outward Disciplines, and Corporate Disciplines.

·         Inward Disciplines: Meditation, prayer, study, fasting,

Meditation: meditate on the scripture; don’t just read it, but allow it to inform who you are and what you do.  Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you what it is that He wants to reveal.  Then bask in it.

Pray: set a regular prayer time aside to pray.  For many, this is best achieved first thing in the morning.  But don’t let that be your only prayer time.  Pray all day long.  Pray with people.  Pray, listening for the voice of the Holy Spirit speaking to you.  Try meditating on the Lord’s Prayer for guidance in how to pray. 

Study: don’t just read the Bible, but find out more about it.  Find about the geography, the people, the history. Find out about the Jewish culture of the time; what does the Talmud say? Do research!

Fast: did you know that this wasn’t an optional spiritual discipline?  Jesus simply assumed his followers would fast: “When you fast…” (Matthew 6:16).  Go without something – you’ll find out quickly if you are in control or if it’s in control of you.  I challenge you to fast from TV.  Or from Facebook.  Or from some treat you regularly eat or drink.  Don’t do it just to go without, but allow God to show you where His desires and your desires come into conflict.

·         Outward Disciplines: simplicity, solitude, submission, service

Simplicity: Try to live a simple life.  Are there things you could do without?  How about trying to live in the moment; if you’re with your family, turn off your cell phone.  I tend to like to read while I’m eating; close the book or newspaper and concentrate on enjoying the food and company.  You can do this radically, like evaluate all of your “stuff” and sell anything you don’t need and give the money to God. 

Solitude: spend time alone.  Without e-mail or a cell phone.  No to-do list. Just listen to God.  I do this best out in nature; this is one of the reasons I love to run.  I am an extreme extrovert, but even I need solitude. 

Submission: this is a curse word for our culture.  I won’t bow to anyone.  I came from a congregational church tradition where each church made its own decision, including calling a pastor.  We didn’t have bishops or any hierarchy.  So when I came to the United Methodist Church, things were radically different.  This became most evident when the Bishop (and the cabinet) decided to move me.  But it was also evident when I had to go through “hoops” to confirm my ordination.  I had to willingly decide to submit myself to the rules of the United Methodist Church and to a bishop. 

Service: get out and do something for someone.  Remember what Paul said, to “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.” (Philippians 2:3-4).  This means serving others regularly.  Make it a part of how you regularly spend your time.  When I had just graduated from college, I found a couple of opportunities for service: in the local junior high ministry at our church, and cross-culturally at the Asian Youth Services in Uptown, Chicago.  I learned a lot about myself and about God through serving those who needed him.  Plus I met some great people and made a difference in people’s lives. It was great to have regular ways to serve, and we’re encouraging our cell groups to make this a meaningful part of your existence.  But how about this: begin each day by praying, “Lord, as it would please you, bring me someone today whom I can serve.” (Richard Foster: Celebration of Discipline).

·         Corporate Disciplines: confession, worship, guidance, celebration

Confession: Most people look around in a church and see a bunch of saints.  Really, that word means the people of God, the set-apart ones, so that’s accurate, but it doesn’t paint the whole picture.  If we could also look around and realize that we’re all surrounded by sinners, saved only by God’s grace, then it would do a lot for us.  Can you imagine what would happen if we’d all take off the “I’m so good” masks? And confess our sins to one another?  James tells us that The prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up.  If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective. Do you want our prayers to be powerful and effective?  Then we have to confess our sins to one another. 

Worship: sometimes we fall into the trap of considering the time we spend here our “worship” time.  Thus we “worship” for an hour or so, sometimes a little more.  Sometimes we are really “moved” in worship and we really feel the Holy Spirit’s presence.  Other times we don’t like the music that much and other aspects bother us.  Let’s get something clear: The point of worship is not us and our preferences.  The object of worship is God.  Worship requires our entire being.  You can’t adequately worship God with your arms crossed across your chest.  The Hebrew word we translate “worship” means “to prostrate yourself.” The word “bless” literally means “to kneel.” Thanksgiving refers to “an extension of the hand.” Worship is physical as well as spiritual. Worship is a cornerstone for  self-control.  When we are worshiping Him, we acknowledge that He alone is worthy of praise.

Guidance: This is one reason why I believe our cell groups are so important. We can offer Godly guidance to one another through the cell group.  This is a fantastic place where we can ask for prayer and encouragement and guidance.  The “what do I do next” question is best answered in community.

Celebration: Too often we as Christians are seen as super-serious people who aren’t allowed to have any fun.  As a teenager I remember seeing the same people at a football game or basketball game on Friday night and a church service on Sunday.  They would be cheering and celebrating on Friday and somber and sour on Sunday.  We have something to celebrate!  Our Savior lives!  We are no longer slaves to sin, but are forgiven!  Can I get a witness? J God himself celebrates when one who was lost is found: can we do likewise?

Let’s close with a passage from 2 Peter 1. His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.

For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But if anyone does not have them, he is nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins.

Let us go, with all aspects of the Fruit of the Spirit, that we can be effective and productive, that we will make a difference for Jesus in all of the world!