Strength # 3 – Temperance – Self Control. (7 Divine Strengths That Makes Us)

II Peter 1v6a “And to your knowledge temperance…” This is an amazing thing, to add temperance to your knowledge. Temperance means: self-restraint / self control in the face of temptation or desire. If there is one man that I can attribute that possessed the “7 Divine Strengths That Makes us” to, then it is Job. Yes, Job. When trauma took its full course in Mrs Job’s life and devastation stood with its chest out before this wonderful family, she said, “…dost thou still retain thine integrity? Curse God, and die.” Job2v9. She mentions a truthful characteristic of her husband, - integrity. That means he was a man of Virtue (good and righteous moral, truth and principle) and that he was a man that possessed Knowledge of God and His ways, he also understood the functions (clear awareness) of daily living. Take time to read the book of Job, it is after all the oldest script in the Bible. He also possessed the qualities of comprehension, skill and experience. She sums this up in one word, - Integrity. So back to our incident, Job took control of himself that moment. He held his composure. He would not let anything or anybody hinder or divert his focus of the gift of life that lies ahead. Temperance shows up in Job’s defence. If there is one personality trait that God has placed in all of us, then it is Temperance – (self control, self restraint), it is just that sometimes we don’t know when and how to use it. Others, things, matters, take the position of self, and we are under control instead of we our self’s taking control. If Job would have allowed anybody or anything to take control of that moment in his life, he would have lost his life and he would have brought a curse upon himself. Oh! How many of us walk around with a volume of bitterness regret and a curse, because we didn’t take control of “that” moment in our life. You can be how righteous and good, you might know and be able to interpret things better then others, but if you cannot control yourself then you are like a sounding brass and a waterless cloud. Flee from someone that says; “you haven’t seen the other side of me yet!” That means that person is not true to him/her-self. Within that statement it would mean that that person succumb to another force to take control. Within Adam and Eve’s life we see that God took them away from where they were created (the dust), and placed them into a place, which was the Garden of Eden, from whence they could rule and dominate. You can only practice full self-control when God is in control of your-self. So when they where put out of the Garden they were open to any control. When low self-esteem and ignorance took control of Cain’s life, murder and envy sprang up and took control of him and he killed his own brother. In Genesis 4v6 God saw this control on Cain’s face, and in verses 7 God warns him of the control of sin. In the same chapter in verse 16 it says, Cain left the presence of God. Sin controlled him. He couldn’t control himself. Time will fail me If I should tell you about Peter when he drew his sword the night when Christ was betrayed. What about Judas that sold his own Master for thirty pieces of silver. They all lacked self-control at “that” moment. The list goes on. My dear friend you don’t want to be the villain to others and to yourself we all want to be the hero. Do the wise thing add Temperance, Self-Control to your Knowledge. And when you have done that, add to your temperance, Patience.