Everybody struggles with self-control. We all wish we had more of it. I heard a story about a little boy in Sunday school who was taken out in the hall by his teacher because he had been disrupting the class. The teacher spoke to him about the importance of the fruit of the Spirit. She began to name them all, and when she got to self-control the little boy held up his little hand and said, “Hold it right there. That’s the one I have trouble with.” Well, join the rest of us because all of us struggle with self-control.

Some people have a reputation of being control-freaks. They want to control everything in life except themselves. And even though you may try, you can’t control other people. I read a quote recently from Teddy Roosevelt that said, “If you could kick the person in the pants responsible for most of your trouble, you wouldn’t sit for a month.”

In regard to self-control, let me get to the bottom line. You and I can never control self in our own strength. So my only hope is to surrender my self to Jesus who lives in me. In Luke 9:23 Jesus said, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.” That doesn’t mean that you deny yourself something like chocolate, it means that you deny SELF. And self is your sinful nature. It’s the part of your personality that always says, “Gimme, gimme, gimme.”

It all boils down to this: Who’s in charge in your life? You or Jesus? This week I hope to challenge you to practice self-control. Ask God to reveal those areas in your life you struggle to have control; then ask Him to give you the strength and wisdom to manage them.

The Bible says, “Like a city whose walls are broken down is a man who lacks self-control.” (Proverbs 25:28)