Crafting Self Control
image from Pixabay
Last Friday, I Zoomed with an editor about two book proposals her house might like. At one point, she asked about my writing goals. I said we write for either therapy or impact. Yes, they share ground, my writing changes me, but I focus on impacting people. Then I sat down Saturday to write this Unconventional post, one scheduled for several months. A divine coincidence, perhaps? 😊
Back then, I ran across this quote by St. Dominic, “A man who governs his passions is master of his world. We must either command them or be enslaved by them. It is better to be a hammer than an anvil.” So, keeping Dom’s thought in mind, how do we maximize our impact for faith? A couple of steps in that.
First, let’s clearly identify our life goal. Do we chase therapy for us or impact for God? Therapy symbolizes putting our needs first. Impact represents putting God and his desires first. Yes, they blend, but the one we prioritize will drive our lives. Jesus expressed his desire for all followers, “So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well” (Matthew 6:31-33). Impact.
None of us do this perfectly, but do we continually commit to impact as our target?
Second, recognize that we all have passions and desires. Healthy ones help us with impact. Unhealthy ones can distract and lead us astray, and Dominick referred to the latter. His premise: controlling those passions allows us to have impact. We become the actor rather than the reactor, the hammer who takes the initiative, not the one getting beaten up by following our passions. What passions can afflict us? Choose our poison. A relentless drive for success. A passion for leisure. For comfort. For lust. For… Our question must be, does this bring me closer to God, to having impact for him, or do my needs and desires work against that?
My first book was Deep Down: Character Change Through the Fruit of the Spirit, and I struggled to find the hook for the chapter on self-control, then the title came and set the tone: “Doing What We Most Desire.” Isn’t that the key, really? We evaluate options, we consider the cost/benefit ratio, and choose what we desire the most. Doesn’t that take us back to our first point? A good friend and fellow pastor, Jim Fowler, once said, “We only truly believe what we practice.” What do you believe about impact?
Kick Starting the Application
What unhealthy passions in your life distract you from making the best spiritual impact on others? Why do you cling to them strongly? How can you nurture self-control as a fruit of the Holy Spirit who lives inside you? How can knowing God and eternity in heaven help counterbalance your passions?