Self-Controlled Actions, By Sarah Tummey

I’m sure you will thoroughly enjoy this final post in a 3-part series about self-control written by my dear friend Sarah Tummey.

We’re thinking about a quote from Trina Bresser Matous: That self-control includes control emotionally, physically and in one’s thoughts. We’ve looked at our thoughts and emotions, so what does it mean to have self-control physically? As far as I can see, she’s talking about our physical bodies and how we use them. Paul talked about this too, when in Romans 6:13 he urged us to offer the parts of our body to God as instruments of righteousness (to be used for doing good). That reminds me of my favourite Casting Crowns song. “Slow Fade” came out of a Sunday-school song from fifty years ago, to the tune of “If You’re Happy and you Know It”. Casting Crowns kept the concept of the song, but changed the lyrics and melody to make it more adult. It’s all about the effect your actions have on those around you. We can offer our eyes to God by turning away from something unwholesome, rather than give it a second look. We can offer our lips to God because if we make promises we can’t keep, hurting people could be further disillusioned.

We shouldn’t do what we do to try to please people because, as Christians, we’re servants of Christ (Galatians 1:10). However, we should do all that we do for the glory of God (1 Corinthians 10:31). If I have a meal with a vegetarian and I eat meat, that’s fine if they’re ok with it; but if I eat meat and they think: “These Christians – they’ve got no compassion. I want nothing to do with Jesus”, then I’ve put an obstacle in the way of someone coming to faith. That’s not glorifying God. That’s why when Paul covers this topic in Romans 14, he says in verses 20-21: “Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. … It is good neither to eat meat nor drink wine nor do anything by which your brother stumbles or is offended or is made weak”. Sometimes there’s nothing wrong with an action in itself, but there is something wrong if it has negative repercussions for someone else.

Having self-control in our actions is so important. Why not offer the parts of your body to God today, as instruments He can use for doing good?

If you’d like to read more of Sarah’s writings, why not visit:
Her blog
She is also an extremely gifted song-writer. You can hear samples of her music and order copies of her CDs by going to:
Her website
Her music is also available on Amazon and iTunes.