{"id":5748,"date":"2024-02-27T01:27:44","date_gmt":"2024-02-27T01:27:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ourlearningjourney.sg\/?p=5748"},"modified":"2025-02-12T04:24:41","modified_gmt":"2025-02-12T04:24:41","slug":"how-not-to-succumb-to-worldly-pleasures","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ourlearningjourney.sg\/index.php\/2024\/02\/27\/how-not-to-succumb-to-worldly-pleasures\/","title":{"rendered":"How do we avoid succumbing to worldly pleasures?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
By Bernice Gan and Alice Lock\u202f <\/p>\n\n\n\n
What words related to “self” do you often hear these days? Self-awareness, self-actualisation, self-fulfilment? In an age where people seek pleasure and satisfaction above much else, self-control is seldom talked about. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yet the ancients considered self-control fundamental to all virtues. Self-control is what enables us to live out the other fruit of the Spirit such as love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness and gentleness.\u202f <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Pleasing God, not ourselves<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
What is self-control? Self-control is about seeking and doing what pleases God rather than pleasing ourselves. Paul exhorts us not to gratify the desires of the flesh but to clothe ourselves with the Lord Jesus (Romans 13: 12-14). \u00a0 \u202f<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Exercising self-control helps keep sin from encroaching into our lives.\u202f\u00a0The bible states in Proverbs 25:28 that ‘A man without self-control is like a\u202f\u00a0city broken into and left without walls.’ While we know the importance of having\u202f\u00a0self-control, we also know how easy it is to give in to our impulses to satisfy our\u202f\u00a0ungodly desires.\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u202f\u00a0Exercising self-control using only our own effort will ultimately lead to failure and\u202f\u00a0disappointment. Without the transformative work of the Holy Spirit\u202f\u00a0to conform us into Christlikeness, we will fall back to our sinful nature. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n
Only by allowing Jesus to take full control in our lives can we have the strength to renounce worldly passions and ungodly habits. \u00a0<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
After all, Jesus is the epitome of self-control. Despite being falsely accused and tortured, Jesus \u201ccommitted no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth.\u201d (1 Peter 2:22) When He was tempted by Satan, He could have called twelve legions of angels to his aid (Matthew 26:53) but he didn’t. Jesus exercised self-control and was obedient till the end.\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Be mastered of the Word, not the World<\/h4>\n\n\n\nPhoto by Unsplash \/ Sixteen Miles Out\u00a0<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
We often use the phrase \u201cBe in<\/em> the world but not of<\/em> the world\u201d to encourage and remind fellow believers not to succumb to worldliness. The world does offers us a great deal of pleasures and feeds on our pride and sense of importance. If we are honest with ourselves, we have at least one worldly struggle, one thing of this world that we have spent a considerable amount of time pursuing, be it money, wealth or status. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cFor all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.\u201d 1 John 2:16 <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In order to resist the things of the world, we need more than self-control. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Thankfully, God has not left us defenceless. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u202f\u00a0One of the greatest weapons God has given to us is His Word. Every page leads us to the One who is the Word (John 1:1). As we read God’s Word, we grow deeper in our relationship with God and become eager to have more of Him in our lives. David knew the power of God’s Word when he said in Psalm 119:11: \u201cI have hidden your word in my\u202f\u00a0heart that I might not sin against you.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When our hearts and minds are filled with God’s Word, there is no room for Satan’s lies to enter. Likewise, if we do not have God’s Word in our hearts and minds, we will be mastered by the World and fall into the devil’s schemes.\u202f
Let us choose to be renewed daily by the Holy Spirit through reading His Word and prayer and allow God to transform us to desire and do what pleases Him.\u202f <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Read and Respond<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\u00a0 1. Is there an area in your life that is lacking self-control?\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
2. How can you allow <\/strong>Jesus to take control\u202fof your life and the Holy Spirit to transform us to produce the fruit of self-control? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Read with your child<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
“Sit still”, “Wait for your turn”, “Not now” – I am sure you have heard these words said to you by the adults around you. What they are really saying is “Please have self-control”. Self-control is about being in control of your actions, thoughts and emotions. When you feel like playing at the playground during phonics lesson, you display self-control by sitting still in class and paying attention to the lesson. When you want to read the book that your friend is holding, you display self-control by waiting for your friend to finish reading the book first. When you want to play with Mommy and she is busy in the kitchen, you display self-control by waiting for her to complete her chores.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It is not easy to have self-control, but we can tap on the Holy Spirit to help us. 2 Timothy 1:7 says, \u201cFor God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.\u201d With the Holy Spirit inside of us, we are able to develop this fruit of the spirit and live a life that is pleasing to God. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Be in the world but not of the world\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":5749,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"csco_singular_sidebar":"","csco_page_header_type":"","csco_page_load_nextpost":"","csco_post_video_location":[],"csco_post_video_url":"","csco_post_video_bg_start_time":0,"csco_post_video_bg_end_time":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[61,161],"class_list":{"0":"post-5748","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-devotional","8":"tag-devotional","9":"tag-self-control","10":"cs-entry","11":"cs-video-wrap"},"yoast_head":"\n
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