Control and Consequences

Of course the Bible talks a lot about self control (for obvious reasons)… to please God you have to control your behavior. There is a standard of conduct that he expects. You can’t go the party if you’re not dressed right.

Most of the time we control ourselves because of negative consequences. For instance we obey the laws of the land so we don’t end up in jail. No one wants to go to jail so we obey the law even if we don’t like the law because we don’t like jail worse.

In addition, we control our behaviors so we don’t have the consequence of poor health. Recently I received a lab report that said my HbA1c was elevated so since I don’t want to be diabetic or have coronary disease I greatly reduced my sugar intake. You see, I not only want to live a long life but I also want to have a certain quality of life. Potential consequences force me to take self control measures. I do allow myself one teaspoon of sugar in my coffee once week.

Galatians 5 records a list of behaviors that need to be controlled because the consequence would be like having a thousand needles stuck in our eye. Our room mate for eternity would be Satan. You can dress a pig up and put lipstick and jewelry on her but she's still a pig and Satan will always be Satan.

Uncontrolled sexual desires can ruin families and reputations. Is it worth it? If not then control it.

Lack of control causes consequences. I know there are bad consequences and I know there are good consequences. I also know there is a pint of my favorite ice cream in the freezer but if I share it with Julie the consequences just turned from bad to good.