Mastery Over Self

Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? 

So run, that ye may obtain. And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible.  I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the air: But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway. 

1 Corinthians 9:24-27

Temperance is the ninth and last of the fruit of the Spirit listed by Apostle Paul in Galatians 5:22-23. He gives us this list as a direct contrast of the works of the flesh he lists in Galatians 5:19-21.  Though temperance is listed last, there can be no doubt about its importance to Christian living. Can a Christian be uncontrolled in his manner of life and still be a Christian? Not Hardly! Believers in God, as exemplified by Jesus Christ, are models of lives controlled under the guiding hand of God without relinquishing their free moral agency.

Temperance is moderation in emotions, thoughts, and actions. It is self-control. Temperance is mastery in all things:  

But I keep under my body and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.  1 Corinthians 9:27

We are told to add temperance to our lives:  

And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; 2 Peter 1:6

The word temperance refers to the mastery of one's desires and impulses, and does not

in itself refer to the control of any specific desire or impulse. 

Self-control is comprehensive in practical application to life, but the Bible does not use the word extensively. It is implied, however, in many exhortations to obedience, submission and sinless living. 

But if they cannot contain, let them marry: for it is better to marry than to burn. 1 Corinthians 7:9 

And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible.  1 Corinthians 9:25

But a lover of hospitality, a lover of good men, sober, just, holy, temperate;  Titus 1:8

In the KJV of the bible, temperance is translated as "without self-control [incontinent], "self-indulgent [excess]", [incontinency] and "lack of self-control ."

Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good.    2 Timothy 3:3

Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess.  Matthew 23:25

Defraud ye not one the other, except it be with consent for a time, that ye may give yourselves to fasting and prayer; and come together again, that Satan tempt you not for your incontinency.  1 Corinthians 7:5

Despite self-control's obvious importance, we should not limit our understanding of these words to only the rigid discipline of the individual's passions and appetites. These words also include the notions of having good sense, soberness, wisdom, moderation and soundness of mind as contrasted to insanity.

An example of good self-control is found in this scripture:   

"Whoever has no rule over his own spirit is like a city broken down, without walls."  Proverbs 25:28

In its comments on this verse, the Interpreter's Dictionary of the Bible states: The picture is that of a city whose walls have been so nearly destroyed as to be without defense against an enemy; so is the man who has no restraint over his spirit, the source of man's passionate energies. He has no defense against anger, lust, and the other unbridled emotions that destroy the personality.

Positive attributes of temperance is shown in this scripture:  

"He who is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and he who rules his spirit than he who takes a city."   Proverbs 16:3

Here King Solomon uses an entirely different word for "rule," but the sense of self-control remains. A comparison of the two proverbs reveals the great importance of self-control as both an offensive and defensive attribute.

Undoubtedly, self-denial, self-sacrifice and self-control are inextricably linked in the believers' life; each is part of our duty to God. Yet human nature exerts a persistent and sometimes very strong force away from God:

For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would. Galatians 5:17

"Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be."   Romans 8:7

It is this force that each believer must overcome.

Controlling ourselves, denying human nature its impulse to satisfy its desire, and even sacrificing ourselves are necessary if we are to stop sinning as a way of life. When we add the concepts of self-denial and self-sacrifice to our understanding of self-control, we can see more easily how large a role temperance plays in the Bible.

Have you ever grieved the fact that this world seems out of control? Partly because of the rapid growth in technology in terms of transportation and communication, events seem to occur so rapidly that they tumble one upon another. In our minds we are carried furiously along in this current and unable to conclude one event before another hammers away at us for attention.  But know that events are not really out of control because God is still on His throne! Apostle Paul teaches us:

And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation;  

Acts 17:26

Job states:  

He makes nations great, and destroys them; He enlarges nations, and guides them. He takes away the understanding of the chiefs of the people of the earth, and makes them wander in a pathless wilderness. They grope in the dark without light, and He makes them stagger like a drunken man.  Job 12:23-25

Does a drunken man exhibit much control? No, but in this example, God is maneuvering events and men are powerless, though they try to turn aside His plans.

We are privileged to live when events— far beyond our control and of vast importance to the working of God's purpose— are being maneuvered into position. Most assuredly, God is deeply involved. He is working behind the scenes even when we don't see it or realize it.  His dominion is over all creation, but for the present time He has allowed Satan and his demons, the principalities and powers of this age, to rule over earth:

For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.  Ephesians 6:12

As we near Christ's return, Satan has designed ways of life that are fast-paced, spiced by a complicated array of sense-appealing entertainments, fashions and gadgets, and filled with a confusing mix of educational, economic, religious and political systems. These lifestyles are in a constant whirlwind and lived on the edge of disaster. No one has time anymore to meditate on how to gain control over his life.

Are we also allowing ourselves to be swept along on the crest of this surging tide of worldliness? Perhaps this is why Satan has created such a system; the time of Jesus is nearing and Satan does want our focus on this.

We will never control some things. We cannot stop the tides from going in or out. As much as some would like, we cannot control the weather so that it will not rain on our parade. We must admit that there is far more over which we exercise no control than that which we do. God does not require that we try to control what is beyond us or that we fret because they are beyond us. Some things in life we must learn to accept peacefully, yield to and work our way through. Otherwise, we could find ourselves "beating our heads against a wall" and driving ourselves into the psychological imbalance of always seeing ourselves as defeated or as victims.

It is sometimes surprising how little control we have over other people—even in our families, our own flesh-and-blood children whom we have reared from birth. Parents are often shocked by their children's behavior, especially of their teenagers, whom they thought they had trained well. Many parents have discovered that merely telling their children what they can or cannot do—accompanied by warnings of dire punishment—is not enough to control their behavior when the children find themselves under the pressure of a situation.

Perhaps the supreme irony is when we realize how little control we exercise over ourselves. We find ourselves enslaved, even addicted, to habits created and engraved on our character over years of practice. This discovery can be a devastating, humbling blow to the ego. It often occurs after an intense study of God's standard of thinking, speaking and behaving in contrast to the standard of the world we have willingly and, in many cases, thoughtlessly followed.

Saddly, there was once no fear of God before our eyes, but when He begins to come into focus in our mind's eye, and we care what He thinks about us, then we begin to be concerned about controlling ourselves.

When we acknowledge God, we are far less prone to give in to our desires and impulses:

Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.   Proverbs 3:5-6

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