LIVING IN A PROTECTED CITY
PROVERBS 25:28 NKJV
28 Whoever has no rule over his own spirit
Is like a city broken down, without walls.
In ancient times the best defense for a city was its walls. When the nation of Israel came to the edge of the land God had promised them, that is one of the characteristics they went to spy out. Did the cities have walls?
Of course, walled cities are not a problem for God. The city of Jericho had huge walls. People built houses on these walls. The people thought they were safe, but God had another plan.
Here in our proverb for the day, the metaphor of a city with broken down walls is given. A city with no walls is a target for the enemy, and so is someone without self-control.
No rule over his own spirit would be more easily understood as someone with no self-control or a lack of self-discipline. The ability to say no to desires that are not good is important. The ability to do something that is uncomfortable is a measure of how protected a person is.
All of us have known smart, capable people with no self-control. And even though they may have immense talents, they are virtually unprotected and easily defeated. Our world is filled with talented people who can not control their desires. Or they seem to have no boundaries in life. They allow people into their world who literally take them down. They are walking cities without walls.
Peter, the apostle who walked closely with the Lord for three years, started out as one of those people with no rule over his spirit. He was constantly saying something that would get him into trouble. If he had self-control over his mouth, it was not apparent. But Peter changed. And later, he would write in his second letter about adding self-control to your life. Peter said that self-control was one of the qualities that would produce a revealed knowledge of the Lord Jesus. And it was one of the things that would actually keep you from stumbling spiritually. Peter gives a laundry list of these important qualities, which include love and godliness, but self-control is right there.
Paul also referenced self-control as one of the fruits of the spirit in Galatians 5. Paul spoke of having to control his fleshly desires in much the same way as an athlete controls his body during competition.
APPLICATION:
No sermonizing here, but there is one important point we all need to grasp. We have the ability to develop in self-control. Especially as a new creation in Christ, the capacity is there. Believing that we have no self-control is not accurate and certainly not helpful.
We can do this. By God’s grace and help, we can protect our city.
PRAYER:
Lord, help me to strengthen the self-control in my life. I want to be protected from assaults by the enemy.