“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, SELF-CONTROL. Against such there is no law.” Galatians 5: 22-23

Self-Control

Recently, our 13 year-old black Lab, Sam, (name and color changed to protect his reputation!) has developed a fondness for gallivanting to the neighbor’s house a quarter mile away. Living in the country, he’s not in too much danger, but still, we want him to stay home like a good, obedient dog. And did I mention that he’s totally deaf and nearly blind? Yes, oddly enough, he can still pull off a few shenanigans in his condition.

In Sam’s younger years, we showed our displeasure with some of his antics by tone of voice—not so now! How do you reprimand a deaf, nearly blind dog? Well, you don’t, but here’s the kicker—Sam reprimands himself!

Yes, Sam cowers and slinks home and hides under the cabinet in the garage, completely covered in those Velcro-like sticker balls. Oh, he’s pathetic-looking and knows he’s done wrong and somehow can sense my displeasure. He keeps up his sorry countenance for, oh, I’d say about an hour, when he then starts to test the waters to see if I’ve forgiven him. I’d get a real chuckle out of this if I wasn‘t so irritated.

Every time this pitiful scene is played out, I get this picture of myself acting so much like that dog, slinking back to God after what seems like a sufficient time of remorse. In all honesty, I have self-control issues, especially in the food area. This is my personal “sneaking off to the neighbors” escapade, and every time it’s the same thing: “Oh, Lord, forgive me again for eating all that unhealthy food.” The Lord definitely knows I’ve never met a pie I didn’t like (or cake, or cookie, or…).

So what’s the answer? Well, in reality, God forgives way before we ever start the guilt-ridden, slinking routine, but we often feel we must put ourselves in the corner and punish ourselves because we’re, oh, so very bad. Then we feel even worse, so we need more comfort food (bring on the mashed potatoes and gravy, please) to recuperate—and there you have it, a vicious cycle of regret, punishment and hopelessness. But thanks be to God!

Jesus came to set us free from this kind of bondage! While I’m learning what self-control really looks like, I absolutely know I fall short. But the beauty of the cross of Christ is, He paid for my lack, my not measuring up. So while I grow in these things, I am completely spotless, covered by His blood. He does not require me to cower and despise myself. I am “…accepted in the Beloved. In Him I have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace…” (Ephesians 1:6-7).

“Thank You, Jesus! You know us so well, the places we hide, the hurts, the reasons, oh, those reasons. But You give us so much more grace than we ever give ourselves. Help us to walk in the newness and forgiveness of Your Spirit daily. Amen!”