Willpower

Willpower is a forgotten word amidst most Christian circles today.
Many of us are soft, flabby, and fat either outwardly or inwardly . . . or
both.

The overindulgence and underachievement of our age have created a
monster whose brain is lazy, vision is blurred, hands are greedy, skin
is thin, middle is round, and seat is wide. Color him baby blue!

What has spawned this strange, pillowy product? The Greeks would say:
"A serious lack of enkrateia." That isn't a vitamin, it's a
virtue---self-control.

The word actually means "inner power or strength." Expanded, it
includes such things as having mastery or possession of something, the
controlling power of the will (under the operation of the Spirit of
God), the inner strength to resist and refrain, the strength not to
indulge, not to act on impulse.

Paul uses this term in 1 Corinthians 7:9 regarding the control of
sexual desire. He refers to it again in 9:25 as he speaks of the
athlete's control over his body and its wants during the period of
time he is training for a contest.

Rigid, severe discipline went into such training, mixed with
separation and loneliness. Stern soul-discipline was a constant companion of the
Greek athlete of the first century. Enkrateia became his middle name
for ten long months.

In Galatians 5:23, this virtue occurs in the list of the fruit of the
Spirit. But lest you think it is something God suddenly drops on you
without any involvement on your part, allow me to quote 2 Peter 1:5-6
so as to keep everything in balance:

Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith
supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge, and
in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control,
perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness.

Observe two things, please. First, this is a series of commands to the
Christian---this is our responsibility. Second, the fulfilling of the
commands necessitates our "applying all diligence"---this will take
sacrificial effort . . . emotional blood, sweat, and tears!

For the remainder of this reading I'd like to apply self-control to
our lives just from the neck up. Naturally, we are the product of what we
think about. Our actions and our reactions originate in our minds.
What do you think about? Upon what do you spend most of your mental energy?
How much independent, hard-core, no-nonsense, controlled mental input
goes into your day on the average?

Those sorts of questions haunt me when I consider how a phenomenon
like TV watching has so thoroughly saturated our society. Consider the
following facts, gathered at the time of this writing:

Ninety-five percent of American households---over 60 million
homes---have televisions. An additional 100,000 sets are being added
with every passing month. More than 106 million adults find themselves
in front of the tube on an average week in America.

And how often do those TVs get turned on? The American average is 48
hours per week. The average male watches 26 hours per week, while the
female watches 30 hours. A national survey reports that the average
American high school student spends more time in front of a television
in his lifetime than the sum total spent before a teacher from
kindergarten through high school.

I don't have to remind you that I am not anti-TV. I own one and I
thoroughly enjoy viewing selected programs regularly as time permits.
However, it is exceedingly serious when a nation like ours has become
so lacking in self-control that we cannot turn a one-inch knob to
"off" and provide our minds and eyes a needed rest from the blast of
consistent cosmos propaganda.

It is a pity that many Christians have the TV schedule better
memorized than a single chapter from God's precious Word. Due to our lack of
mental self-control, our driving desire is to be entertained and
amused, rather than challenged through reading or family discussions
or silent meditation or personal planning and goal-setting.

I suggest that you attack this problem with a loaded rifle, not a
sling shot. Take one needy area at a time and shoot it into submission with
relentless prayer and determination as the Spirit provides the
gunpowder. Let's meet at the rifle range. I think I hear a few shots
already.

Don't fail to draw on the Lord's power as you work on self-control,
knowing His strength is yours. Understand and believe Romans 8:9-14.

-Charles Swindoll