Chapter 35—Self-Discipline
“He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; and he that
ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city.” He has conquered self,—the
strongest foe man has to meet.
The highest evidence of nobility in a Christian is self-control. He
who can stand unmoved amid a storm of abuse is one of God’s heroes.
To rule the spirit is to keep self under discipline; to resist evil; to
regulate every word and deed by God’s great standard of righteousness.
He who has learned to rule his spirit will rise above the slights, the
rebuffs, the annoyances, to which we are daily exposed, and these will
cease to cast a gloom over his spirit.
It is God’s purpose that the kingly power of sanctified reason,
controlled by divine grace, shall bear sway in the lives of human
beings. He who rules his spirit is in possession of this power.
Power of Self-Control
In childhood and youth the character is most impressible. The
power of self-control should then be acquired. By the fireside and
at the family board influences are exerted the results of which are as
enduring as eternity. More than any natural endowment, the habits
established in early years will decide whether a man shall be victorious
or vanquished in the battle of life.
In the use of language, there is, perhaps, no error that old and
young are more ready to pass over lightly in themselves than hasty,
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impatient speech. They think it is a sufficient excuse to plead, “I was
off my guard, and did not really mean what I said.” But God’s word
does not treat it lightly. The Scripture says: “Seest thou a man that is
hasty in his words? there is more hope of a fool than of him.” “He that
hath no rule over his own spirit is like a city that is broken down, and
without walls.”
The largest share of life’s annoyances, its heartaches, its irritations,
is due to uncontrolled temper. In one moment, by hasty, passionate,
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