Fire-fighters, Police Officers, Soldiers… and me.
What do we have in common? What would put me in the same group as heroes like the above? Not my technical skills, certainly. Not the esteem that they get in our communities. And not the bravery they tap in to. If not those, what then?
Split second decisions that have to be right, that can’t have a degree of wrong in them. Calculations based on sound thinking and both short and long range views. Conclusions based on a body of truth in their field. It should come as no surprise that God’s word talks about the very thing that I have in common with the best of those heroes mentioned above!
The Apostle, Paul, called it, in the Greek, ‘Sophron,’ and it’s been translated into ‘Sober-mindedness,’ ‘Sensible,’ and ‘Self-controlled.’ That may not sound exciting enough to be in the same realm as those charged with protecting our countries, but it’s incredibly important and most important when it plays out in my life as a believer, charged with growing in Grace and leading my family.
It’s the quality of being able to restrain myself from urges that are based on selfishness. It’s the quality of knowing when what is being said is truth or error and choosing the truth. It’s the quality of knowing when emotion threatens better judgment. And it’s the ability to, in the split second before you say a word or do an action, judge and know what the right word is and what the right action should be.
When you read that, I think it becomes clear how important it is for all of us to be able to exercise this trait, from soldiers to church planters and anyone else who is walking with God in truth.
This concept from God’s word, was introduced to me nine years ago as a Sophomore here at New Tribes Bible Institute by a teacher named Kelly O’Rear and it’s a concept that nine years later, I find myself in dire need of exercising every day! And every chance I get with the young men that I spend time, I work to expose them to this truth as well.