State v. Big oil moving forward
October 25, 2016
Kaye Thibodaux
October 25, 2016
One fruit of the Holy Spirit is self-control. The fruits of the Holy Spirit are the result of the Holy Spirit’s presence in the life of a Christian. Everyone receives the Holy Spirit the moment he or she accepts Jesus Christ into their lives. The primary purpose of the Holy Spirit coming into a Christian’s life is to change that life into the image of Christ, making us more Christ-like.
The first thing we have to recognize is that we need the Spirit’s power in our life to control our passions and desires. Joyce Meyer, a Charismatic Christian author and speaker, has this talk with herself. “I tell you what, when I see chocolate chip cookies I can’t just eat one. I’ve got to eat a dozen. I don’t have any self-control. Well, come on! You’re just talking yourself right into the pit! You do have self-control, and you need to start looking at those cookies and saying, ‘If I want you I’ll eat you, and if I don’t I won’t!’ Come on! Talk to that plateful of food! I am born again and baptized in the Holy Ghost! I have the power of the universe inside me, and if I do not want to eat you, I will not eat you! I mean how do you expect to defeat the devil if you can’t even defeat a chocolate chip cookie?”
Once we plug into the power of the Holy Spirit, we can work with God to bring order and peace into our lives. An alternative expression for self-control is self-discipline.
Former New Orleans Saints’ coach Bum Phillips once said, “The only discipline that lasts is self-discipline.” Too many people are “all over the place” because they do not have God’s Spirit in their lives and they are not able to discipline themselves.
Self-gratification is so predominate in our world today. People want things right away whenever they want them. Gary Ryan Blair, goal-orientated author says, “Self-discipline is an act of cultivation. It requires you to connect today’s actions to tomorrow’s results. There’s a season for sowing a season for reaping. Self-discipline helps you know which is which.” This helps us to know the difference of need and wants.
When our country was first founded, Benjamin Franklin talked about teaching our children to control their passions. He said, “Educate your children to self-control, to the habit of holding passion and prejudice and evil tendencies subject to an upright and reasoning will, and you have done much to abolish misery from their future and crimes from society.” If everyone followed his advice, we would be living in a better world.
Many people today have a hard time dealing with life. They are not disciplined, so they seek happiness in drugs or alcohol or other addictive behaviors. Syndicated radio talk show host and author Dennis Prager once said, ‘Happiness is dependent on self-discipline. We are the biggest obstacles to our own happiness. It is much easier to do battle with society and with others than to fight our own nature.”
Author Napoleon Hill once said, “If you do not conquer self, you will be conquered by self.” If we let our passions run wild, they will conquer us. Even the ancient Greeks realized the importance of self-control. Plato came out with this statement 350 years before Christ’s birth, “For a person to conquer self is the first and noblest of all victories.”
Jesus told us, “Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the road is easy that leads to destruction, and there are many who take it. For the gate is narrow and the road is hard that leads to life, and there are few who find it. (Matt. 7:13-14) Be focused and disciplined.
