“He must live wisely.”
Titus 1:8
From my Journal 2005
Best to start this story from the beginning @ "Travel Lines-1:The Self Train Line-Derailed"
Best to start this story from the beginning @ "Travel Lines-1:The Self Train Line-Derailed"
At the tail of my journey on God’s Spirit Airline, I came full-circle—back to the beginning—on the notion of Self, the soul with which I was born—the will and emotions that make up my personality and character. The last of the fruit—traits we bear that others see—of living with God’s Spirit guiding our souls is temperance or self-control.1
Webster defines temperance as “moderation in action, thought, or feeling—RESTRAINT: a control over the expression of one’s emotions or thoughts.”2 Self-control is defined as “restraint exercised over one’s own impulses, emotions, or desires.”3 One of the roots of the original Greek word translated to “self-control,” means “power, strength,”4 while the root of the Greek word translated to “self-controlled,” means “to be in a right state of mind, have sober judgment.”5
Begin with your thoughts
It is worthy to note that temperance and restraint involve the mind—thoughts—the heart—feelings and desires—the soul—emotions—and the body—actions. Self-control is all encompassing, yet it begins with our thoughts. Apostle Paul instructs, “Take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.”6 To produce the fruit of self-control or temperance requires limiting our thoughts to those that produce love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, and gentleness—Godly fruits.7 Temperance, the stamp of sanctification, wraps up Godly living—righteousness—by creating boundaries for what may enter or leave our mental, emotional, spiritual, and body systems. Like a dam that holds back water preventing its invasion of the surrounding land, self-control reigns in impulsive responses giving our mind and heart the opportunity to process properly the emotions we feel.
No longer a babe
Observing an infant provides an excellent example of unrestrained feelings, emotions, and behaviors. A baby typically reacts to every feeling or emotion. If they are hungry, cold, wet, or tired, they will display distress by crying and increase the expression of discomfort until the feeling or emotion is satisfied. With an infant, the focus is all about Self—satisfying their needs and wants. The focus is inward—“satisfy me”—and the child has no concern to provide anything for anyone else. Babies have no self-control; that’s why they wear diapers!
Self-sacrifice leads to self-control
Temperance is a sign of maturity and has less to do with age than it does with one’s ability to focus outwardly—to put the needs of others before one’s own. Self-control has an element of sacrifice—giving up the expression of one’s own desires and emotions as behavior that does not consider first what Jesus would do. This popularized question, “What would Jesus do?” and the acronym label “WWJD” brings to our attention that control of Self requires an examination of what we should do before we act on our emotions. If we consider first the behavior of Christ and let His example drive our emotions, rather than letting our emotions drive our behavior, then we will be able to conquer Self and live as Our Creator intended, as one with the Spirit of God.
More than a word
The root of temperance—temper—represents a “high quality of mind or spirit: COURAGE, METTLE.”8 A person’s “mettle” indicates the quality of his or her temperament—the constitution of a person with respect to the balance of his or her qualities—one’s “makeup.”9 Webster provides a description of the interrelationships and complexity of the makeup of temper:
COURAGE, METTLE, SPIRIT, RESOLUTION, and TENACITY mean mental or moral strength to resist opposition, danger, or hardship. COURAGE implies firmness of mind and will in the face of danger or extreme difficulty. METTLE suggests an ingrained capacity for meeting strain or difficulty with fortitude and resilience. SPIRIT also suggests a quality of temperament enabling one to hold one’s own or keep up one’s morale when opposed or threatened. RESOLUTION stresses firm determination to achieve one’s ends. TENACITY adds to RESOLUTION implications of stubborn persistence and unwillingness to admit defeat.10
Back to Self
This may explain man’s difficulty in achieving Self-control. Each of these components—courage, mettle, spirit, resolution, and tenacity—focuses on the ability of Self and once again places man’s focus inwardly, rather than outwardly, as Jesus would do. Jesus’ temperance was a result of His mission to reach out to everyone with whom He encountered. His own needs were of no concern to Him—His mission was to serve, help, heal, and guide by giving God’s love, joy, and peace to all and then to give to all the ultimate sacrifice—His life for our sins.
The secret to temperance is modeling Jesus’ focus—outwardly—and His behavior—love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control—the fruit that He produced. Yet, as man we battle with Self—our inward focus—so that we need a checkpoint or boundary to capture, moderate, and control our thoughts and behavior. God has given all Believers in Christ this checkpoint—the Holy Spirit—that will bring to mind all that He has taught us through His Word—the teachings, guidance, and instruction found in the Holy Bible.11
A final destination, yet a lifelong journey
My journey on God’s Spirit Airline has a final destination—eternal life in heaven with My Savior at the right hand of God. It is during our sojourn in this world that God wants us to ride on His wings—the Spirit Airline. With the Self Train Line derailed and the Soul Cruise Line shipwrecked, I’ve found healing in His wings and a course for the rest of my life with the Holy Spirit as my pilot—a journey on His Stairway to Heaven.
Whoever has no rule over his own spirit is like a city broken down without walls.12
—The wisdom of Solomon.
Praise to Our Father for the words He has given me. This meditation moment is dedicated to Pastor Woody and was inspired by his instruction and Rod & Staff’s biblical discipleship, may God continue to bless their ministry.
Copyright © 2004, 2005, 2016 Stellar Rhema Ministry, Jeff Cambridge
References
All Scripture quotations unless otherwise noted are from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations marked NIV are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of International Bible Society. “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark office by International Bible Society.
Scripture quotations marked NKJV are taken from The Holy Bible, New King James Version, copyright © 1979, 1980, 1982, Thomas Nelson, Inc., Publishers.
1. Webster’s Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary, copyright © 1984 by Merriam-Webster, Inc.
2. Ibid.
3. The Strongest NIV Exhaustive Concordance, copyright © 1999, 1990 Zondervan.
4. Ibid.
5. 2 Corinthians 10:5 NIV
6. Galatians 5:22-23
7. Webster’s Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary, copyright © 1984 by Merriam-Webster, Inc.
8. Ibid.
9. Ibid, italics added.
10. John 14:26
11. Proverbs 25:28 NKJV
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