Tuesdays with Morris

“Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings.” (1 Peter 5:8-9)

If you had to define what it means to be “self-controlled”, what would your answer be?

I believe this issue of self-control is one that needs to be brought to our attention…especially in these “United States” (I think “united” states is like the “united” methodist church…for things that are supposed to be “united” there seems to be a lot of division…anyway, that’s another post).

As I look around…not just in the media, but even just around me here in little Muncie, IN…I see such a great need for self-control. Many think self-control has to do with sex, drugs, rock n’ roll…all of the apparent evils that dwell among us. I think self-control has a lot to do with our consumeristic mentality…our selfish drive for bigger, better, more expensive. I mean, let’s face it, the average family size in the US is actually declining while the average amount of square feet in homes is increasing. Does a family of three really need a 3-5,000 sq. ft. home? Probably not, but if we’re trying to live out the American dream and keep up with the Joneses the answer may be yes.

I think this comes to mind when I think about self-control because it’s so tricky. It’s not bad to have nice things. Yet, sometimes having nice things and the pursuit of nice things gets in the way of our relationship with Jesus, the church, our family and friends. Some are able to balance this, but many are not.

What do we devote the majority of our time to? Some of us probably have some great answers…but even the “good” things can be bad and in need to self-control if they interfere with our relationship with Christ.

Right now, I’m extremely disappointed in how many families miss church because their kids have a baseball game during church. Is baseball, soccer, volleyball, cheerleading, dance, etc more important than church? Emily and I were talking about how we want to just sort of take a stand if our children are involved in sports. When it comes to Sunday’s…that’s church and family day. Yeah, it may have an effect on our child’s play time. But, at some point someone has to take a stand. Otherwise, these organziations will continue to monopolize our families time.

What draws us away from spending time with Christ, His church, and our families? How can practicing self-control help this situation?