Get a hold of yourself!

Proverbs 25:28 He that hath no rule over his own spirit is like a city that is broken down, and without walls.

Many are the people we know who are incontinent, that is, they have no self-control. I have watched, in amused befuddlement, as professed believers so easily allow escalations in events to render them out of control.

Whether riding as a passenger and witnessing my driver host lose it over being “cut off” in traffic, or seeing couples or families melt down in the counseling office, or just watching as a teen gradually slips away from all that is holy into the pit of perdition, it is evident that too few have too little control over their emotions.

Paul, the greatest Christian to ever lace up his sandals, had his own battles with emotions. We read of his angry bout with Peter, of his confessed battle with the flesh in Romans 7, and of his determination to keep his body under subjection to his spirit so that the ministry is not blamed in any thing.

In my imagination I can see the demons chuckling at us as they see us, time after time, giving in to those old carnal emotions. They throw out the same temptations and fan the flames until we lose it for the umpteenth time.

How silly it must look to the world to see our hypocrisy when our temper gets the best of us at work, school or in the back yard.

I am reminded of the preacher who was made aware that he had a deacon in his church who was from time to time known to cuss.

In his attempt to help the deacon overcome this terrible habit, the preacher decided he should spend some personal time with the deacon so they could have a long talk about the problem. The preacher decided to ask the deacon to go fishing, thinking that might provide an opportunity to talk.

They were out in a boat and had their lines in the water when the preacher hooked a big one. It put up a mighty fight, but finally he reeled the fish up to the edge of the boat. It was the biggest fish the preacher had ever caught. But, just as the minister started to pull his catch into the boat, the fish slipped off the hook and got away.

Thoroughly disgusted, the preacher looked over and said, "Deacon, somethin' needs to be said here!"

Something really does need to be said, and Solomon said it, “He that hath no rule over his own spirit is like a city that is broken down, and without walls.“

Let’s get a hold of ourselves!