{"id":43191,"date":"2022-02-15T11:08:42","date_gmt":"2022-02-15T17:08:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/?p=43191"},"modified":"2025-09-09T19:53:33","modified_gmt":"2025-09-10T00:53:33","slug":"self-control","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/self-control\/","title":{"rendered":"Self-Control (Hall)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\t

by Bill Hall<\/p>\n

What is the value of self-control? Self-control is that which enables us to hold our tongues when we are tempted to viciously put someone in his place once and for all; or when we know a juicy bit of gossip that would be entertaining to the group and would turn us into the “life of the party”; or when an occasion almost demands that we betray the confidence that must not be betrayed under any circumstances.<\/p>\n

\"\"Self-control is that which enables us to control our passions when another is provoking us to anger; that keeps the clenched fists in the pockets when the agitator is only half our size; that keeps the lips sealed when another is railing and swearing at us. Self-control is that which enables us to be like our Lord “who, when He was reviled, did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but committed Himself to Him who judges righteously<\/em>” (I Peter 2:23).<\/p>\n

Self-control is that which enables us to maintain a purity of heart and to thrust out evil thoughts before they can take root; that enables us to place the best possible construction on another person’s actions when unproven rumors could easily destroy our confidence in him; that helps us to maintain a cheerful disposition when everything around us has turned sour. Self-control is that which enables us to love the unlovable and to hate that which the world loves.<\/p>\n

Self-control is that which enables us to rule our appetites; to say “no” when our lusts would lead us to sin or when that which is harmful to our health is placed before us. Self-control is that which enables the smoker to put down his cigarettes and the alcoholic to put down his drink and never return to it. Self-control is that which enables us to rule rather than to be enslaved.<\/p>\n

The Bible does not glorify the indifferent and impassive. It is not our goal to be uncaring. To be like Paul, we must be able to have our spirit stirred within us when we are surrounded by evil (Acts 17:16). To be like our Lord, we must sometimes feel anger when surrounded by hypocritical self-righteousness (Mark 3:5); we must even react with occasional outbursts of goodness on occasions, as when the Lord cleansed the temple (John 2:13-17). But, all such outbursts must be tempered with self-control, that in our anger we “do not sin” (Ephesians 4:26).<\/p>\n

God does not view our uncontrolled actions with amusement. Our temper tantrums and harsh, unbridled words are soul-threatening, a potential bar to the abundant entrance into the Lord’s everlasting kingdom (II Peter 1:5-11). We must not minimize the danger. We must not surrender to this evil.<\/p>\n

What is the value of self-control? It is one of the qualities that enable us to go to heaven. The possessor of it is rich indeed.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Bill Hall What is the value of self-control? Self-control is that which enables us to hold our tongues when we are tempted to viciously put someone in his place once and for all; or when we know a juicy bit of gossip that would be entertaining to the group and would turn us into…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[27],"tags":[811,1430],"class_list":["post-43191","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-self-control","tag-self-discipline"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":7218,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/thoughts-on-self-control\/","url_meta":{"origin":43191,"position":0},"title":"Thoughts on Self-Control","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 8, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Source:\u00a0Brian Resnick, \"The Myth of Self-Control,\" Vox, 24 November 2016. Source: W. Hofmann, \"Everyday temptations: an experience sampling study of desire, conflict, and self-control,\" Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, June 2012, 102(6):1318-35. The author doesn't believe self-control exists, yet oddly, he only proves that his definition of self-control is\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Issues"","block_context":{"text":"Issues","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/issues\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":51863,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-masturbating-a-lack-of-self-control\/","url_meta":{"origin":43191,"position":1},"title":"Is masturbating a lack of self-control?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 6, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I found some of your insights on the subject of masturbation quite amazing. As an evangelical, we are taught to develop spiritual disciplines of which self-control is one. In fact, in Galatians 5:22 the apostle Paul highlights it as one of the fruits of the Spirit. To this effect,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":32394,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/controlling-our-temper\/","url_meta":{"origin":43191,"position":2},"title":"Controlling Our Temper","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 21, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"by R. J. Evans Brother John Clark once related a story about a woman who told a preacher she had a bad temper, but that it was over in a minute. \"So is a shotgun blast, but it blows everything to pieces,\" was the preacher's reply. And far too many\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/Angry-297x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":64171,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/lacking-self-control\/","url_meta":{"origin":43191,"position":3},"title":"Lacking Self-Control","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 5, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"by Brett Bowen","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":64357,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/self-control-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":43191,"position":4},"title":"Self-Control (Anderson)","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 16, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"by PJ Anderson","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":93681,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/add-to-your-faith-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":43191,"position":5},"title":"Add to Your Faith","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 4, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"by Edwin Crozier via Read the Bible, Make Disciples Text: II Peter 1. Because God has given us everything we need to become partakers of His divine nature, we need not sit on our hands moping that we cannot be with or become like God. No doubt, our efforts alone\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43191","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=43191"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43191\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=43191"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=43191"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=43191"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}