A fool gives full vent to his spirit, but a wise man quietly holds it back. Proverbs 29:11
"If you learn self-control, you can master anything." is a anonymous quote that speaks volumes about how easy it is for us to indulge our fleshly appetites. Our flesh lust against the Spirit and cries out for satisfaction. The trap of indulgence leads to broken down walls in our lives that cause us and others heartache and pain. Indulgence can be in any area of our lives and will mean different things to different people. For some it can be chemical addictions, for others it can be eating, shopping, porn, or a multitude of other habits or hang-ups.
In the passage above, "venting one's spirit" is the indulgence dealing with uncontrolled emotional outbursts. We let loose with our mouths and end up saying things that wound ourselves and others. However, the Bible has much to say about self-control. The center point of self-control is dying to self. Jesus said it plainly when he called people to follow Him. He said, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me." (Matthew 16:24) The very call of the Christian life is to give our self-control over to the control of Jesus!
Jesus gives us His Spirit to dwell inside of us. In fact, the Bible tells us, "God did not give us a spirit that makes us afraid, but a spirit of power and love and self-control." (2 Timothy 1:7) The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. (Galatians 5:22-23) Jesus told us that if we stay connected to Him, then we will bear much fruit. (John 15:1-5) As we connect to Christ on a deeper level he will lead us away from indulgence to a fruitful and meaningful life.
This doesn't mean that we will walk around with frowns on our faces and become Bible Thumpers. On the contrary, living a life free from self-indulgence is living a life of freedom. Living a life under control of God's Spirit is living a life full of love and joy. Living a life of self-control is living with proper boundaries for ourselves and others. That is the happy life!
Blessings to you!
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