A City Without Walls
Proverbs 25:28
Like a city whose walls are broken down
is a man who lacks self-control.
Have our walls been broken down? Do we as a society lack self-control?
In our culture today, there is not much talk about self-control but you hear a lot of talk about self-indulgence. We believe we should have the right to do anything we want with anyone we want to, as long as we are not affecting someone else. We have become a self-centered self-indulgent falsity. As long as I am doing my own thing and not bothering anyone else, I am entitled. As long as I am not bothering you, why should you care how I live my life, or what relationships I have or whom I have them with. Hasn’t this become our mentality?
So often, we suffer from consequences of poor decision making in our lives. God wants us to walk in the confidence in him. Where there is lack of self-control, it leads to self-indulgence, which opens the door to defeat. Self-indulgence breaks down the walls, the barriers, the boundaries in our lives that God has intended to be there to guard us and protect our lives. Be careful of the things you desire and don’t be enslaved by your self-indulgence, whether it be food, money, drugs, alcohol, lies, negative words, and the list goes on. I think most of us have all fallen victim to one of these vices one time or another. Self-indulgence leads to compromise and I often wonder if our compromises are taking our world over the edge and finding us where we never though we would be.
The enemy comes in and enslaves us. It is amazing how many people wake up and everything is lost. They have lost everything and they are totally shocked. We allow our self-indulgent lives to cause us spiritually to grow dull to the voice of God and we become numb to the movement of God. We do not recognize how the spirit is moving within us. God wants us to walk in the victory of life that he has ordained for us. God has called us to be men and women of self-control.
Twenty years ago, we did not hear about the constant killings on the street by our children. We did not view reality TV that highlights sex. Our top hit song was not about two girls kissing. It was not cool to be like a gangster. Our mouths were not nearly as vulgar and our thoughts were not filled with how to get the next materialist possession. When our children came into the room, we did not tell them to be quiet because we were reading a simple email. Our cell phones were not occupying our time with irreverent gossip. Did we discuss so openly how the neighbor is having an affair like it is no big deal.
I wonder have we found ourselves like a city with out walls? Have we crossed over the boundaries? Are we focused as a society on love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control or have we compromised ourselves.