Is it that important to be on time?

The Art of Manliness offers a dozen reasons why it is important for all of us, but especially men, to be on time.  I would suggest being on time would be part of what the NT often calls “self-control.”

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Why do we need self-control?

“Self-control is necessary because we’re at war with our own sinful desires. James described those desires as dragging us away and enticing us into sin (1:14). Peter said they war against our souls (1 Peter 2:11). Paul spoke of them as deceitful (Ephesians 4:22). What makes these sinful desires so dangerous is that they dwell within our own heart. External temptations wouldn’t be nearly so dangerous if they did not find this ally of desire right within us.”

Jerry Bridges. Holiness Day by Day: Transformational Thoughts for Your Spiritual Journey Devotional (p. 151). Kindle Edition.

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Some practical tips for self-discipline

Adapted and condensed from John MacArthur:

A. Begin with small things
Learning self-discipline in the little things will prepare you for the bigger challenges of life. Those who are undisciplined in the little matters will likely be undisciplined in bigger issues. It is a microcosm of their lives. Solomon said that it was little foxes that ruined vineyards.

B. Get organized
Make a schedule and stick to it. You may like it very specific or more general. Whatever suits you, but stick with it. Using a notebook or a daily planner or a personal information manager on your computer can really give you discipline. However you do it, get organized, even if all you do is jot down appointments and to-do items on a scrap piece of paper. The simple reality is if you don’t control your time, everything or everyone else will.

C. Wean yourself off from being entertained
When you have free time, do something productive rather than entertaining. We are far too entertained in our day. I think that is a curse on our children. Sometimes even in a church setting we think we have to entertain children instead of train them to minister. When you have some free time, instead of turning on the TV and watching some mindless program, read a good book take a walk, do a project, help your neighbor, listen to classical music, develop a new skill, or have a conversation with someone.

D. Be on time
Remember the wisdom of Poor Richard’s Almanac, “Do you love time? Then do not squander it, for that is the stuff life is made of.” Being five minutes early or punctual reveals an organized life. It marks a person whose desires, activities and responsibilities are under control. Being on time also acknowledges the value of other people and the value of their time.

E. Keep your word
Don’t make your promises you can’t keep. George Washington once told himself, “Undertake not what you cannot perform but be careful to keep your promise.” When you say you are going to do something, do it when you said you would and how you said you would do it. When you make commitments see them through.

F. Do the hardest task first
Frankly, most people do exactly the opposite, spending their time on low priority, easy tasks. But when they run out of time and energy, the difficult, high-priority tasks are left undone. So tackle the biggest project first, your least favorite chore first, the most difficult appointment first, the most mentally challenging subject first.

G. Finish what you start

H. Practice self-denial for the sake of self-denial
Don’t always give in to your impulses and desires. Occasionally say no to something that is a perfectly legitimate pleasure just so that you can remind yourself that you are in control.

I. Volunteer
Take on some responsibility that needs to be done. Don’t wait to be asked. Volunteer. This will force you to have your life organized enough to give time to others.

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Out of control

You might have read the title and maybe thought this was a blog post about the debt debate in Washington, D. C. right now where it seems as if our nation’s spending is out of control.

Actually this is about when a slice of our life (or maybe more than a slice of it) is out of control.  The fruit of the Spirit includes self-control.  But self-control is not easily attained.  In fact as Ed Welch states,

“There is a mean streak to authentic self-control. Underneath what seems to be the placid demeanor of those who are not ruled by their desires is the heart of a warrior. Self-control is not for the timid. When we want to grow in it, not only do we nurture an exuberance for Jesus Christ, we also demand of ourselves a hatred for sin. . . .

When was the last time you said ‘No’ to something, out of obedience to Christ, when it actually was hard to say ‘No’? Maybe you can say ‘No’ quite easily to cocaine, but you linger over salacious advertising. Maybe you can say ‘No’ to the second or third drink, but you will never miss a dessert (though you vow weekly to change your eating habits). Whatever earthly desire doesn’t take ‘No’ for an answer is a lust that surpasses your desire for Jesus Himself. With this in mind, we quickly realize that self-control is not simply an exercise in self-improvement. It is an essential discipline in a high-stakes spiritual battle. The only possible attitude toward out-of-control desires is a declaration of all-out war.”

Read the entire article here.

HT: Truth Matters

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Greater temptation, greater self-control

Do you think we face greater temptations today than previous generations did?

Interesting question.  The truth is, as David points out, at the very least we have more discretionary time on our hand, increased opportunities, and less physical barriers to temptation than ever before. These three factors add up to the likelihood that we face greater temptations (though not different in kind) than previous generations.

If that is true, we need greater self-control.  So David points to a NYT article that offers a few somewhat helpful tips for increasing self-control but then he gives biblical counsel for greater self-control in an age of temptation.

1. Christ’s love. Just as Christ’s love for us constrains and compels evangelism (2 Cor. 5:14), so it also constrains and compels obedience (1 Jn. 4:19).

2. Christ’s Word. Just as Christ Himself resisted temptation with Scripture (Luke 4:1-14), so we do too (Eph. 6:17).

3. Christ’s example. Consideration of Christ’s holy life inspires and empowers perseverance in holiness (Heb. 12:3)

4. Christ’s Spirit. Christ is with and in His people by His Spirit (Gal. 5:16-18). He does not send us into battle, He comes with us.

5. Christ’s sympathy. As He was tempted on all points, like as we are, we can go to one who sympathizes with us as we face strong temptation in our human weakness (Heb. 4:15).

6. Christ’s grace. When we come to Christ, we not only get sympathy, we get strong grace to help in our time of need (Heb. 4:16).

7. Christ’s forgiveness. We are going to fail and fall. But there’s no need to wallow in strength-draining guilt. We can come to Christ for immediate forgiveness (Jn. 8:11; 1 John 1:9). We start again with a re-formatted hard-drive (“clean sheet” for the older generation).

“Yes temptation is greater today. But Christ is greater still.”

Read the whole article.

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Self-control in a wired world

Josh Harris:

Yesterday I preached a sermon about self-control from Proverbs 25:28 that says, “A man without self-control is like a city broken into and left without walls.” I focused on the issue of media, the internet, and today’s new technologies. I don’t think I’m the only person who would identify this as an area where it’s easy to lack self-control. I think a lot of us we could rephrase the words of Proverbs 24:33-34 about the sluggard and say, “A little web surfing, a little Facebook, a little folding of the hands around the smart phone and spiritual poverty will come upon you like a robber.”

Listen online or download the sermon here.

Pastor Don Devries wrote up some application questions based on the sermon that I think are good:

1. What things are you tempted to do instead of what you should be doing? What do you fill your time with that crowds out activity of eternal value?

2. Have you feasted so much at the table of the world that your hunger for the Lord (Matthew 5:6) has diminished and your first love (Revelation 2:4) has grown cold? What can you do to rekindle that love and hunger?

3. What allowable and permissible pursuits have you allowed to rob you of your service to God’s church and His kingdom? What would change look like?

4. What things have crowded your life that keep you from fruitfulness (like time in God’s word, prayer, fellowship, evangelism, etc.)? What steps of repentance do you need to take to begin the process of change?

5. Paul writes in Ephesians 5:15-16a “Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time…” How can you cultivate wisdom in your use of time? How can you put the eternal pursuits above the trivial?

Click hear to listen to the sermon.

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Self-control

Ed Welch, “Self Control: The Battle Against ‘One More'” (not available online, published in The Journal of Biblical Counseling 19/2 [Winter 2001]: 24-31)

. . . the desire for self-control must be accompanied by a plan. If self-control demands thoughtfulness, and if it ultimately declares war on both our own flesh and Satan’s temptations, then there must be a strategy. If our battle was against an insignificant foe, then planning would be unnecessary.

However, given that our enemy is subtle and crafty, a strategy is essential. This is just one of the ways that New Year’s resolutions get thrown onto the scrap heap. Having eaten too much over the holidays, we make a resolution to eat wisely. But our decision usually lasts no longer than dinner the next day. Or, having been caught buying drugs, we figure that the vague sense of remorse will engender abstinence, and we don’t even think that next week we will feel the same drug-desires and have access to the same drug-users and drug-dealers. In these situations, there was no thoughtful plan, no consideration of the spiritual dominion involved, no calling
out for the grace of God in Christ, no real desire to take one’s soul to task, and no pleas for help and counsel from other brothers and sisters.

A good indicator of whether or not you want to grow in self-control is this: do you have a clear, public strategy? Put another way, if anyone says, “I am really going to change this time – I don’t think I need any help,” then that person has yet to understand the biblical teaching on self-control. It is one thing to make a resolution; it is something completely different to repent, diligently seek counsel, and, in concert with others, develop a plan that is concrete and Christ-centered.

The heart of any plan, of course, must be Jesus Christ. Self-control is like any other feature of wisdom in that it is learned by contemplating a person. Strategically, this is unprecedented. We would expect God to yell at us and tell us, again, to shape up, but God’s ways, being much better than our own, are rarely predictable. Rather than give us twelve steps on which to rely, he gives us a Person to know. As Jesus is known and exalted among us, you will notice that self-control becomes more obvious. The double cure for sin is the foundation for all change. That is, in the gospel, we have been released from both the condemnation and the power of sin. We have been freed “to serve the living and true God, and to wait for his son from heaven, whom he rescued from the dead—Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath” (1 Thess. 1:9, 10).

Other on-line resources.

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