Tracing It Back

It’s tough to think about, but every sad story you’ve heard about those who got caught up in pornography, adultery, premarital sex, bankruptcy or addiction can be traced back to a lack of self-control. The lack of that fruit of the spirit made room for them to decide, I’m going to indulge in this, even though that person knew it wasn’t right.

Rarely has anyone ever been sucked into some kind of fleshly act thinking, This is a good thing to do. Most people know better from the start, but they indulge anyway. They thought, I’ll just do it this one time. Then one time led to another and, eventually, it got control of their lives. They wound up sowing to the flesh and reaped destruction (Galatians 6:8). 

The force of self-control can prevent such tragedies! It strengthens us in those moments of decision, so our stories end up being glad ones instead of sad ones. It helps us make the right choices and empowers us to keep living an abundant life.

How can you avoid falling into those wrong choices?

The Bible tells us. First, guard what is going in your eyes and ears. The devil is promoting sin on every platform—TV, movies, internet, music, magazines and social media. The more you expose yourself to it, the weaker you become. 

And second, be careful of the company you keep. The world is full of people whose lives are out of control. They do whatever feels good in the moment if they can get away with it. The Bible tell us to stay away from those kinds of people (see 2 Timothy 3:5).

That’s good advice. If you want to grow in the spirit and develop the fruit of self-control, don’t hang around with people who are ruled by their flesh. Love them, be kind to them, and share Jesus with them when the opportunity arises. But don’t spend a great deal of time with them because the more you associate with people who lack self-control, the easier it will become for you to indulge in things that aren’t right. So, choose your associations wisely. 

When you do these two things, you’ll never have to look back from an unexpected place of pain and heartache wondering where you went wrong.