At first reading of the title you would think this is about Jericho, when the Israelites marched around the city for 7 days and followed the instruction of the Lord. No, it's not about that but it is about the after effects of a city without walls. "A man without self-control is like a city broken into and left without walls" [1]. This is a golden nugget of a proverb. There is a lot of spinach here to chew on. It's good for us to dwell on challenging verses in the Bible, especially this one, which seems to not make a lot of sense on the surface. But with a little thinking power, the truth of the proverb sets in and causes us to rethink our lives.
What does Solomon mean by it? A man who has forsaken discipline is like an ancient city without walls--it remains defenseless and open to attack from the enemy.
Where are you lacking self-control? The enemy you need to worry about first and foremost is yourself. I'm not denying that the world system of autonomy and the devil are your enemies, but if you can't defend against attacks from your old way of life (pre-regenerate days), you certainly can't fight against those other two beasts [2]. Your depravity--your old nature--as Paul explains in Colossians is to be put off and its practices sentenced to death. The new nature you received when you became born-again, is what Paul reminds his readers about. Because you were granted a new self by God, you are to bring forth fruits of the new nature [3]. Self-control is one of those fruits, which brings us back to a man without self-control, he is like a city broken into without walls. A man who lacks this fruit of the Spirit is living as an unbeliever in particular areas of his life and basically saying that God has no jurisdiction or authority over those areas. The city has holes in its walls. What holes do you have in your walls? In other words what do you know you need to get control over in your life?
This proverb applies to every area of your life, not just "spiritual" matters of reading your Bible, going to Church, evangelizing, and doing ministry. Actually, every thing you do is spiritual, you can't escape from this reality. All of life is to be under God's authority. Doing church or reading your Bible is no more of a spiritual exercise than going to work or eating dinner. We are to do all things to the glory of God! How you go about completing tasks, duties, and even enjoying pleasures is what makes it a spiritual issue. That's key: How you go about doing something. A pastor can do his work in either a Christian way or he can do a poor job that wouldn't be classified as very Christian like. Same goes for the plumber. He can do his work in a Christian manner or he can do it in a non-Christian like way. How you go about doing something reveals the spiritual quality, you might say, of your thoughts, words, and actions. Am I thinking and acting like a Christian? If I read my Bible but I'm not a doer of the word, what does it say about me spiritually? Or what if I eat dinner but complain and murmur about the food placed before me? I'm not being very Christian like, huh? Or even, what if I have bad eating habits that cause my body to deteriorate in an untimely manner, what does it say about me spiritually? Am I living this particular area of my life as a Christian is suppose to? Let's be careful not to leave compartments or areas of our life untouched by the authority of God's word, for a man without self-control is like a city broken into and left without walls.
[1] Proverbs 25:28
[2] The autonomy of the world is the natural impulse of the unregenerate. They seek to be their own gods and have their own rule (autonomy) apart from God's rule and authority (theonomy). The world system that John speaks of is the system of thoughts and actions contrary to God's law. The autonomous world system is the continuation of that first original sin of Adam and Eve, the desire to rule their own lives. We see where it got them and their posterity--curse and judgment--they received negative sanctions for refusing to submit to God's law. Adam and Eve lacked self-control and opened themselves up to attack, they were as a city without walls, they were open to the attack of deceit that came from the devil. "Be self-controlled;" Peter tells us, "be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour." Peter goes on to say that you are to resist the devil, firm in your faith. Being firm in your faith is not a passiveness on your part and an asking of God to have pity on you, but rather, it is a call to action--a call to stand with self-control, to rebuild the crumbled walls that you have let fall. 1John 2:15-17, 1Peter 5:8
[3] The fruit of the Spirit - Galatians 5:22-23
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment