Now an overseer must be ... self-controlled.
(1 Timothy 3:2)
Among the rest of the pastor's qualifications, one of the greatest is the need for self-control. If one cannot control their own person, how can this same person be expected to control a congregation of hundreds of people?
Self-control is one of the greatest and most misunderstood virtues in the world. While it involves self-sacrifice, it focuses primarily on restraint. As with temperance, it is the promotion and protection of limits. Temperance is from outside influences. Self-control deals internally.
Self-control is one of God's great gifts. It is a gift that needs to be practiced. Therefore we have some of the struggles in our lives. Struggles God sends in order to help us exercise greater self-control in our lives. Exercise our soul's God-given strength to go beyond what we think is possible. Giving God all the glory and honor for the strength that we continue to receive from Him. Amen.
