Has your brain ever felt as cloudy as the sky behind me here? I have to admit that I’ve also been as “red with anger” as those leaves. It’s hard to do the right thing when we’re angry or in a mental fog for whatever reason. Self control is important because it’ll keep our mouth shut until we should say something and our feet still until we have somewhere good to go.
One of the worst examples of self control in the Bible is the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar. He wanted everyone in Babylon (including the kidnapped Jews) to worship him and his statue. His response when three Jewish guys refused is scary:
Daniel 3:13 says, “Then Nebuchadnezzar in his rage and fury commanded to bring Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Then they brought these men before the king.” You may know the account of when he has these innocent men thrown in the burning fiery furnace. But check out his rage in verse 19 as he “commanded that they should heat the furnace one seven times more than it was wont to be heated.” It’s rare that anyone will do anything good “in his rage and fury.” Nebuchadnezzar failed to kill Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, but his out-of-control anger did kill some of his own people.
Let’s remember that self control is always possible and always helpful. Out of control is a scary description. If a car is out of control, people might get hurt. If a storm is out of control, people go inside and hide. If a person is out of control, there’s no telling how far the damage will spread. We often can’t control our circumstances or what other people do. But we can control what we say and do.
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