A Lack of Self Control?

We live in a society where it doesn’t seem like we need to have a lot of self-discipline or control.  How do I know? Because when we try to tame the beast that has become who we are, it is very tough.

I try to have just a “few” potato chips and they soon turn into munching straight from the bag. I try to be intentional about walking on the treadmill in the winter time and I easily put it off. Both, are examples of a lack of self-control and self-discipline.

We are constantly facing a barrage of “do what feels right” kind of advertisements. If you want to leave your spouse and are unhappy? We are told to leave.  Want that house? Buy it. Never mind that neither one may be the right choice.

God told us that just because something is permissible, it doesn’t mean that it’s beneficial for our lives.  I have seen that first hand. If I eat too much junk, I don’t feel good on the inside. I don’t feel as fit or as healthy. It was only temporary satisfaction. If I don’t have self-control or self discipline, I harm myself in the long run.

Boundaries are set in place in our lives for a reason. God did not place them there to hinder us from having fun or to control us. He put them there out of His great love for us. He wanted to protect us!

I believe that we live in a society that fears any kind of moral guidelines being placed on them. It’s as if we are afraid that being people of morality will rob us of something! Of what…I have no clue. But the further we have strayed from morals, values, and character – the more lost we have become. The sadder we seem to grow and the deeper we search for something we KNOW is missing in our hearts and lives.

Character and moral traits are what FREE us. They don’t handcuff us to something to which we don’t want to belong to.  What we perceive as freedom (eating as many chips or junk food as we want or buying ourselves into debt, etc) those in turn end up being the catalysts to which we become slaves to.

Anything good worth being a part of in life, has boundaries. But in time, we see that those boundaries are more like flashing lights guiding our way. And we all need more of those.