Govern Yourself

Wouldn’t it be wonderful to be king or queen for a day, even if it was just in your little world, so that you could control what other people think, say, or do? Life would be so much easier if you could control your environment, if you didn’t have to listen to the antagonism, nonsense, or falsehood or see the inconsistency, unkindness, or ingratitude of people around you. It is easy to think that the world would be better if we could just control the world. The truth is that most of us are not doing a very good job of managing ourselves.
Proverbs 25:28 says, “He that hath no rule over his own spirit is like a city that is broken down, and without walls.” In ancient times a city without walls was hardly considered a city. No matter how great the commerce or the conquests within, if it did not have walls to the keep the enemies out, it was not a city long.
The Bible is teaching here that a person who can’t govern his own attitude, life, and self is just like a city that has no walls. If he cannot govern himself, he is defenseless, and if he is defenseless, he is fair game for his own passions, pride, and the attacks of the devil. In short, it doesn’t matter what kind of empire you build or how much you have conquered if you cannot govern yourself.
We should all remember what the Bible says about allowing God to govern us. He can do through us what we could not do. It is both His will and actions that animate us to a life that pleases Him. So, it doesn’t matter what you conquer, if you cannot govern yourself.
That means we need to ask God to help us govern our attitude. People know our attitude before they know one word we’ve said or one position we’ve taken. What a difference attitude makes!
How about actions? Between what happens and the time we react we have a choice. We may not think we have a choice. We may think that we automatically have to do one thing or the other, but there is a split second where we are given the power of choice. Now while we have the power of choice, we do not have the power to see that choice through without the help of the Lord Jesus.
So, our attitudes need to be governed, our actions need to be governed, and our words need to be governed. It is easier to say a good or bad thing than to do a good or a bad thing. The tongue is powerful. Proverbs 18:21 says that “they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.” Proverbs 13:3 says, “He that keepeth his mouth keepeth his life: but he that openeth wide his lips shall have destruction.” Here is a city that is destroyed for lack of protection. Here is a person that is destroyed because he can’t guard his mouth.
Today, you may not be king or queen over the world or even over your office, garage, or place of business, but you can ask God’s help to be wise and to manage yourself. If you do that, nothing else needs to change.