Control is central to being a Christian. Control is present in everyone's life but WHO is in control is what changes once you give your life to Jesus but even in doing this it is still so present in everyday living that it needs to be checked regularly, lest we are deceived. I will try to relay what I mean - it can be seen in the reasons why you labor as hard as you do on relationships. It can be felt when you get up in the morning to go to work or the in the reasons why you stay late to finish a project. You can sense it as a parent of teenagers. You know it is there when your mind fills with thoughts of what to do next? It's okay to admit it because it happens to everyone but as a follower of Christ we have been called to trust Him, obey His Word and utterly trust Him with our lives. I find that if I want to be in consistent communion with my Savior I must surrender control daily, for to keep it for myself is to push Him away. To know the importance of each decision yet not worry about it or get upset when things out my control change the route I have chosen. To do what is right then trust God to take care of the results.
Alright that's one side of control but it goes even deeper than that. Why do some Christians (usually older) feel that consumption of alcohol equals sin? In many cases it is because they have seen people lose control because of it – alcohol is in control. There are other reasons not to drink but drinking itself does not equal sin. We are given direction by God through Paul in Romans chapter 14. Look at this example: So as a Christian you drink wine with your wife at dinner. You don't get drunk, it doesn't control who you are, your wife is in agreement, your children are adults so you are not influencing minds too young to understand – conditions and attitudes are right but is God in control? What if He asked you to stop for an unknown period of time would you get upset or try to explain it away with your vast biblical knowledge? The very moment you do this you should know that you are holding onto control instead of giving it to God. To be clear I do not drink because that is my choice but not because I believe it is automatically sin. I do know this about my Savior He will give blessings and take them away all for the purpose of teaching me what holds true value. My eleven year old asked me the other day why do people fast; I told him it is to tell our flesh that it is not in control of our actions and to help us hear God's voice speak into our lives. Control saturates every area of our being. How often do you spend time thinking about buying something you would like to have? Do you control your thoughts, do they control you, or is God in control? While you are thinking about these things how difficult is it to hear God's voice? What's worse after buying it do you spend time wondering whether or not you should have? Sometimes God wants to bless us in a particular way but He knows whether through regret or greed or fear we will not enjoy it, we miss the purpose of the gift and therefore we are not ready to receive causing us to miss the blessings He intended and we walk away thinking it is not God's will, how sad.
We are also instructed throughout the Bible to maintain self-control - doing what is right when tempted to do otherwise. In this way we show that we belong to God and we trust Him to take care of the situation. Bottom line is this - we are all a work in progress, one day we can get it right and the next miss it completely. God gives us opportunity to put into practice that which we have learned, that's why we are to rejoice when going through tests - because we are growing in Him! Sometimes these tests come through blessings, more often through challenges but know this, His grace is there each time we need start again and He loves us more than we could ever imagine! Think about this today, who is in control of this life, we call ours? How we answer determines who we are and who we belong to.
