One of the phrases I hear often from women in counseling sessions is "I'm just emotional - I can't help how I feel". Although people express what they want and what they think, more than anything else, they tell me how they feel. We all know that emotions are very strong and can be controlling when we let our mouths say whatever comes to our minds. If we do what we feel all the time we will have disastrous results in our life. Many times those who live in poverty and destruction have spent most of their lives doing what they feel like instead of what was right. Marriages are destroyed because individuals do what they feel like doing and say what they feel like saying. They use no self-control, and sooner or later they pay the price for these unbridled emotions. The Bible says in James 3: 8-10 - "But the human tongue can be tamed by no man. It is a restless (undisciplined, irreconcilable) evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless the Lord and Father, and with it we curse men who were made in God's likeness! Out of the same mouth come forth blessing and cursing. These things, my brethren, ought not to be so." We must grow up and realize that self-control is a fruit of the Holy Spirit of God. It is given to the believer to keep him from trouble. This is God's setup so that we can walk in victory.
Discipline and self-control are intended to help us.
A disciplined and self-controlled person does not have the luxury to live according to their feelings. Sometimes it gets difficult because we all have days when we just want to do whatever we feel like doing, and to be honest with you I find myself taking a few of those 'I feel like' days too.
You may be faced right now with some serious decisions. Maybe you have been contemplating in your mind, bouncing back and forth between feelings and integrity. You may feel worn out and confused. Be careful...because in that condition, it is very easy to go with feelings instead of disciplining yourself to do the right thing.
Look inside yourself and you'll find that you know what is right. When we simply do what we would tell someone else to do in the same situation, we experience a quick victory.
Self-control and Discipline are your friends!
