Success and Self-control

In 1968, a social scientist at Stanford, devised a test to determine a 4 year-old child’s ability to exercise self-control. Walter Mischel explained that he would reward the child with a second treat if he did not eat the marshmallow placed in front of him until told to do so. Then, he left the child alone and observed from a one-way mirror. Some children were able to divert their attention from the tempting treat - singing songs, covering their eyes, playing games, etc. The resolve of others evaporated quickly and they ate the marshmallow unwilling to wait to earn a second one.

What’s really interesting is information about follow-up to that study. The test was a dramatic predictor of future success! Those who waited to win the second marshmallow scored, on average, 200 points higher on their SAT tests in high school. They ranked high in skills that allowed them to succeed in life; things like confidence, persistence, and the ability to overcome frustration. The kids who had wolfed the marshmallow followed the same pattern into adulthood. They continued to struggle with tendencies to follow immediate impulses which blocked their long-range goals. The Bible teaches us that one of the evidences of the Spirit’s life in us is self-control, and that fruit is more important today THAN ever! In front of you and me are a wide range of opportunities. We have abundant food, including tons of junk. We have access to junk TV, outright filth and foolishness, with a click of our remote. Our PC’s wire us into a world where we can waste hours doing nothing, but feeling like we’re doing something. Our society has abandoned shame and approves self-fulfillment as one of the highest values, so if we run off with another woman, get pregnant without being married, or get fired from our job for being lazy - we don’t have to suffer too much because ‘everybody does it!’

Judging from indicators like the collective increase in the size of our girth, the decrease in our productivity, and the rise in divorce rates- apparently we are NOT doing very well in the self-control department. We are reaping the harvest of our indulgence. Productivity in America is slip sliding away rapidly. 54% of us believe that our kids will not have a life as good as the one we enjoy. We are the very first generation of Americans where a majority believe that! The generation now arriving on the cusp of adulthood is, on the whole, confused about what to do with their lives, unfocused, and content to continue to accept parental support as they age well into their 20’s. We blame them for not getting on into adulthood, but in reality, they are the largely the product of our own undisciplined lives.

Disciple, a core part of being an effective, Christ-honoring, world-class Christian is self-control, which allows us the ability to say “Yes” to God’s purposes as a priority choice so that we can say “No” to the temptations that come our way every day. If we are incapable of or unwilling to accept some level of discomfort in this present life in order to gain the ‘prize of the high calling’ we simply will not consistently do the will of God. Paul, inspired by the Spirit, challenges us to reach higher!
"I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 3:12-14, NIV)

Are you in the grip of your whims?
Do you have real difficulty making God and His kingdom a priority?
Ask the Spirit to discipline you, to teach you self-control. He will, it just won’t be a lot of fun, but self-control pays rich dividends. Here’s what the Word says.

"So don’t feel sorry for yourselves. Or have you forgotten how good parents treat children, and that God regards you as his children? My dear child, don’t shrug off God’s discipline, but don’t be crushed by it either. It’s the child he loves that he disciplines; the child he embraces, he also corrects. God is educating you; that’s why you must never drop out. He’s treating you as dear children.

This trouble you’re in isn’t punishment; it’s training, the normal experience of children. Only irresponsible parents leave children to fend for themselves. Would you prefer an irresponsible God? We respect our own parents for training and not spoiling us, so why not embrace God’s training so we can truly live?

While we were children, our parents did what seemed best to them. But God is doing what is best for us, training us to live God’s holy best. At the time, discipline isn’t much fun. It always feels like it’s going against the grain. Later, of course, it pays off handsomely, for it’s the well-trained who find themselves mature in their relationship with God. So don’t sit around on your hands! No more dragging your feet!" (Hebrews 12:5-12, The Message)