Healthy lifestyles: Self-control

Living a healthier lifestyle is a great investment and it saves us the stress of illness and weaknesses. If we have the strength and the willpower to live right, we should make it intentional to prioritize our own health. One of the ways we do that is to be intentional about what goes into our body. Not everything sweet is good, and not every food is healthy. Until we put barriers in place to check what we eat, we might end up consuming everything and lose all things. Food is one of man’s greatest needs but the desire to eat should not make us forget the need to do a self-check. Until we know that not everything is good for us, and until we put limits on what we consume, the same food with nutritional value will cause unnecessary health problems. 

Self-control is not a new challenge for humanity. In fact, the first sin was as a result of the inability to control self and staying away from what God had forbidden. Usually referred to as the forbidden fruit, Adam and Eve ate what they were not supposed to eat and this began humanity’s woes (Genesis 3). If we think Adam and Eve were the baddest when it comes to obeying God’s command,  let us do a reality check: “Have you ever disobeyed any of God’s laws?” If your answer is ‘yes’, then you are not as good as you think. However God has made provision for us through Jesus (John 3:16). As believers, self-control should be all-encompassing. It is good to have self-control regarding what we consume. Without self-control, gluttony, excessive intake of junk, substance abuse etc. will be a daily struggle. 

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. (Galatians 5:22-23)

God has given us control over what we eat. While others choose to eat plants and animals, some people stay off all animal products. This is a choice and no one is bound by any law to force one to eat only plant-based food. Similarly, the fact that you eat both plants and animal-based food does not make you better than others. Whatever choice we make, we should practice self-control. Paul in Galatians 5:22-23 lists the fruit of the Spirit and he mentions self-control.  Our definition of self-control mostly focus on sexual purity alone. However, self-control is the ability to moderate what we do. Every good thing used without moderation becomes bad. Food is good but eating without control over what we eat leads to bad health. Not everything that smells good needs to be consumed. Even though painkillers aid in taking away pains, should one take a pack of that at once, it is referred to as drug abuse. 

If we fail to control what we consume, we make room for our bodies to pay the price. Take care of your horse (body) and it will take you far.

To read more of these, grab my book A HEALTHY LIFESTYLE: YOUR LIVING SACRIFICE here.