Getting A Grip

Giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control.

2 Peter 1:5–6

Most of us would agree that when it comes to the battle for the right kind of living, the biggest enemy is not out there. The biggest enemy is right here—ourselves. That’s why the principle of self-control is so very vital. It is that quality that makes it possible to achieve the goals God has set before us.

In the Greek, the word temperance is kratain. It means “to grab hold of, to grasp.” I believe it’s the concept from which we get the idiom “Get hold of yourself,” which we use when we’re talking to someone who is getting too emotional. The word is used only seven times in the New Testament. In almost every situation, it is used to describe the importance of gaining control and reigning over our passions and desires.

The matter of self-control is a battle fought in the mind. The mind controls the passions. The battle is fought in the world of thought. There is no conflict so severe as the conflict one goes through to subdue oneself.

I’d like to suggest that the best way to deal with the struggle for control over your thoughts and passions is focusing your mind upon Jesus Christ.