Scripture reminds us that we are to think of others in a way that is very difficult to do. “Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves” (Phil. 2:3). Now the sense of this is not that we are to pretend … [Read more...]

Another area where self-control is greatly needed is in the area of mockery and scoffing. The reason this is needed is because mockery is a deadly weapon, and a lot depends on where it is aimed. This is important because mockery is inescapable—it is not whether you mock, but what … [Read more...]

We have been emphasizing the relationship of personal self-control to the larger political issues related to self-governance. If a people are enslaved to their own passions and desires, then it will not be long before their enslavement takes on a larger and more sinister … [Read more...]

Self-control involves much more than simply refraining from taking one more cookie. It is easy to relegate self-control issues to sins and peccadilloes of the flesh, strive to above average respectable in that department, and call it self-control. Now of course it is important to … [Read more...]

As we continue to meditate on the importance of self-control, and its relationship to other forms of free governance, we have to do more than consider control of appetites and emotions that we know to be a problem. We also need to exercise self-control when it comes to … [Read more...]

We have been considering the importance of self-control, and how it is the key to responsible governance in every larger societal grouping. Slaves to vice individually do not deserve liberty on a larger scale, and whether they deserve it or not, they do not know how to defend it, … [Read more...]

Self-control is not a virtue that can be tucked away in one small portion of our lives. We have seen that it applies everywhere, and that when a people are self-governed, they are in a position to enjoy free government. It should be self-evident to us that a huge collection of … [Read more...]

We have been considering the relationship between self-discipline and the possibility of free and responsible government in other areas. Men and women who are slaves to their vices are not going to be capable of creating or sustaining the various forms of public liberty that God … [Read more...]

The great enemy of self-control is feeling. I do not refer to feeling as rightly ordered sentiment, which is an essential part of what it means to be human. Rather, I am referring to the modern and very pernicious habit of making feelings foundational to all arguments. And by … [Read more...]

Self-control, self-government, is foundational to every form of free government. We have been talking about its importance when it comes to temptations to vice, our emotions and passions, and so on. But there is another area where self-control often goes missing as well. That is … [Read more...]

We have been addressing the issues surrounding self-government, and this includes our emotional deportment towards others. People without self-control collide with one another, because their vices collide and because their emotions follow suit. In a selfish world, people often … [Read more...]

We have been addressing the theme of self-government, and considering that as the foundation of every other form of lawful and limited government. A nation of slaves to sin and vice can never be a free people. They are far too easily threatened, manipulated, seduced, and bribed. … [Read more...]

The theme we have been developing is that self-government is the ground of all other government. Men and women who cannot govern themselves will in fact be governed by others. The less government they have at home, in the heart, the more government from the outside will … [Read more...]

Without self-government, no other form of righteous government is possible. The only way to balance form and freedom in any larger society is when the individuals in that society know how to balance form and freedom in their own lives. The framework of structured liberty is … [Read more...]

We have been looking at self-control as the foundation of all civic and political liberty. Living as we do in a time when such liberty is eroding at alarming rates, we need to make sure that when we run our spiritual inventories we do not do what sinners always love to do, which … [Read more...]