Out of Control

Out of Control
We live in a day and time of immediate gratification. Most people in this country can get what they want when they want it. There is very little waiting involved with anything anymore. We want our food in an instant or delivered to us on time. Gone are the days of going to the library to find an answer to your questions. Instead, Google is at our fingertips and we can get an answer in an instant. As we have given ourselves more and more to this age of instant gratification, we have forsaken the fruit and discipline of self-control.
One of the easiest ways to see a lack of self-control in our country is the way Americans are content to eat excessively. According to the CDC, over 40% of Americans are considered obese. Certainly much could be said about health concerns on this topic, but what about this in relation to spiritual health? Paul included self-control as the final fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22-23, and it cannot be neglected. Certainly, self-control is not limited to how much or little one eats, but it does involve it.
A lack of self-control is typically seen when we observe extremes. For example, there is the sluggard who seems to never accomplish anything and the “workaholic” who never rests. The sluggard and the workaholic are extremes on the work/rest scale. However, the issue, in many cases, is the same. It is a lack of self-control. Work is a good gift from God just as rest is. However, we must take them in proper proportion as God has told us in His word.
Time would fail us to speak of all the implications of a lack of self-control here in our country. Yet, we see it everywhere. Our culture thrives on telling people that what feels nice is natural therefore it is good. It is the “you do you and I’ll do me” mentality. “Whatever floats your boat” rolls off the tongue so easily, yet it fuels a lack of self-control that is pervasive among us. 
The consequences of this can be seen even within the church. We are content to watch hours of television and movies but do not want the church service to go too long. We are diligent to give our time to all types of things, yet when told to be diligent in the things of Christ people will wail and say all types of horrid things. We have no problem speaking about the sin of homosexuality in the Church, yet if we bring up the issue of self-control and how it relates to obesity, lack of spiritual growth, or anything else then people get angry and perhaps even belligerent. 
Brothers and sisters, Christians ought to be people of discipline. We are to be models of self-control in all of life. By no means will we be perfect. However, we must come face to face with the reality that self-control is neglected to our detriment. Let us, by God’s grace, seek to be people who are self-controlled in all areas of life. In our faith, conduct, speech, appetite, entertainment, work, and more. Let us press into Christ and pray for His help. In a world that is out of control, may we be people who bear much fruit in self-control.