When I was diagnosed with diabetes seven years ago, I told the doctor that I was not willing to change my diet. I thought she was going to tell me that I had to eat tasteless food that I had spent a lifetime avoiding. She listened patiently to my rant and just made a couple small suggestions.
When I visited her three months later, she asked me how I was doing. I had made a couple small changes to my diet and reported those. Then she gave me the great news that my blood sugar levels had decreased sharply and I had lost weight. I had only made small changes, but had experienced significant benefits.
Of course, that encouraged me to make more dietary changes. The changes came from within my own heart, not as a result of doctor’s orders. Later, I even added exercise to my sugar level regimen. Again, a doctor had not even suggested it, but God had begun to give me a level of self-control that I didn’t have before. After a few years I was even taken off the minimal drug dose, as diet and exercise had its desired effect in reducing my blood sugar levels.
In this case, a little bit of God given self-control control led to great benefits. My blood sugar is stabilized and I have lost over a hundred pounds. Of course, there have been times when I relapsed into old habits. My self-centered nature has occasionally caused me to lose control and eat things I shouldn’t. The lack of self-control in these times leads to weight gain, nervousness, anxiety and a host of other problems. Then I have to rebuild self-control.
My point is that self-control leads to small victories and, if repeated, to major benefits. A lack of self-control leads to problems and difficulties. Proverbs 25:28 puts it this way; “A person without self-control is as defenseless as a city with broken-down walls.” We need to ask God to build self-control into our lives so that we can live in the benefit side of this equation.
Reluctant Retiree 