20111016

When writing to the Corinthian Church, the Apostle Paul’s concern on the matter for self-control was shared in 1 Cor. 9:19-27. We can learn three things from the passage. Firstly, when Paul refers to self-control, it is more in reference to a right ordering of priorities in life. He uses the metaphor of an athlete exercising self-control in all things. The language he uses implies that an athlete trains and does things in the right order. He does the important things first and the less important ones later. We need to know what is important to us and do that first, rather than other things, though they may seem urgent.

Secondly, Paul teaches us that the key to self-control is not an issue of the will but a matter of the heart. It is a common misconception that we can will our way to order our priorities. What really drives the prioritisation of our lives is the over-riding passion that is in our hearts. The Bible gives us the classic example of Jacob working for 7 years under Laban so that he could marry Rachel. Gen. 29:20 tells us that 7 years of service was “only a few days to him because of his love for her”. She was the over-riding passion in his heart and everything else fell into place. So what should our over-riding passion be? As Christians, we have a prize that is imperishable. For many of us, that means our eternal salvation. Paul is secure in his salvation but he goes deeper to say: “I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share with them in its blessings” (1 Cor. 9:23).

What Paul is actually saying in his third and final point is that the gospel is the one overriding passion in his life. This good news about Jesus is what fills his heart and orders all other priorities but, beyond that, he needs to share this blessing with other people. This is the imperishable prize he talks about, not so much that he has the salvation from Christ’s death on the cross for himself, but that he reaches out to other people for them to share in this eternal salvation. He is motivated to great lengths in practising self-control to achieve this prize. We can be like Paul in turning the motivation of our self-control outwards and attaining this same prize he talks about.