God gave us a spirit not of fear
but of power and love and self-control.
—2 Timothy 1:7
Self-control. You can’t succeed without it.
- No athlete consistently wins without it.
- No musician achieves excellence without it.
- No weight-loss program is maintained without it.
- No exercise regimen works without it.
- No knowledge is increased without it.
- No temptation is defeated without it.
Self-control. Those who have it are winners; those who don’t are losers.
Reinhold Niebuhr, in his Serenity Prayer, zeroed in on two issues that all of us face— things that cannot be changed and things that can be:
“God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
Courage to change the things I can,
And the wisdom to know the difference.”
This is where self-control comes into play. You cannot control others, but you are the only one with the password to your attitude and actions.
You will be what you are tomorrow
because of the choices you make today.