May 7, 2017 (Proverbs 25:28)

“Whoever has no rule over his own spirit is like a city broken down, without walls” (Prov 25:28).  Another very similar translation is that a man who lacks self-control is like a city whose walls are broken down. We have in this saying of Solomon a description of a deficit in the thinking of untold millions in these present days. Such is characteristic in particular of the hedonistic, self-indulgent materialism which flourishes extravagantly in the United States in these latter decades, not only within the general population but also within the church itself. The admonition of Christ that a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions cannot be said to portray the attitude of most professing believers, and this includes those in church leadership as well. Greed, which Paul describes as idolatry, is a prominent trait in the lives of numerous evangelical leaders whose lifestyles are similar to that of prosperous CEO’s in the corporate world. The caution of Jesus in His sermon on the mountainside (Matthew 5-7) about laying up treasures on earth is totally ignored in a majority of larger assemblies, especially those having achieved a ‘mega-church’ status. It is no longer a rarity either for those in prominent church leadership positions to fail in the area of self-control in regard to greed and sexual immorality. Any person lacking rule over his spirit is like a city whose walls are broken down when it comes to spiritual warfare. The gates of a person’s mind are wide open to the influence of demonic spirits when there is lack of self-control in any area of thought life. So it is that Paul emphasizes need to take every thought captive to make it obedient to Christ (2 Corinthians 10:5). Failure to bring our thought life into alignment with the will of God gives access to that which can lead to spiritual death. The mind is a battleground under relentless attack by the enemy of our soul and there must be steadfast resistance against thoughts which attempt to exalt them-selves against the knowledge of God. Having rule over one’s own spirit requires saying “No” on a consistent basis to the devil, to temptations of the flesh, and to attractions of a godless world with its unwholesome glitter.