The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. (Galatians 5:19-24)
Whether you’ve eaten too much food, spent too much money, wasted too much time, or asked too many questions, there’s some aspect of self-control we all struggle with. Thankfully, if you have accepted Christ and acknowledged that God is in control of you, then you can begin to learn to control yourself. If you want to know how to begin to practice self-control, consider these two steps.
1. Confront Your Self
The first thing to understand is that the battle going on within yourself and the desires you have that are contrary to God’s desires for you goes all the way back to the Garden of Eden. The sinful nature of human beings began there, and it is that sinful nature that causes us to want to call our own shots, do our own thing, and look out for number one.
If you’re going to practice self-control, you must first acknowledge that your sinful nature is a problem. Until you recognize that your flesh is something that must be controlled on a daily basis, you will never be able to gain self-control.
2. Crucify Your Self
Once you’ve acknowledged that your sinful nature is a problem that needs to be controlled, you must crucify this part of yourself. This comes from surrendering your life to Jesus. Paul explains this concept in Galatians 5:24 when he says, “Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires.” It’s going to go against your nature to get rid of your fleshly desires and wants but doing so is the only way to practice self-control.
Dear Lord, thank you that you are always in control and that I can trust you. Help me to confront my flesh and my desires to control my own life, and help me to die to my flesh so that I might follow you more closely. Amen.
Topics: Self-Control
